Son of Poseidon: and the Call of the Wild
by Drepanididae
Summary: Alex was a normal kid. Nothing special until he gets almost eaten by the King of Sharks. He escapes and comes home to a book about some boy running off to a Camp, being attacked by a monster Rooster. And when dropping a book off for his mom, he finds a book in his bag about a girl running from a giant Spider. Take the hint Alex, get to Camp Half-Blood. Your adventure is awaiting.
1. I Stand Before the Judges of Death

**Prologue: I Stand Before the Judges of Death**

A woman with a slight glow about her, sat at a desk in the light of a burning candle. She tickled her nose with the end of her quill as she motioned to start writing. But just before she'd touch the paper, she'd back off, struck by indecision. She huffed in annoyance, blowing one of her bangs up and over her little gold crown. 'I am the Muse of Epics, why is it so difficult to start this?'

She gazed over the three leather books sitting on her desk. The first, bound in red leather with brownish, metallic-scented stains and the head of a boar above a pair of crossed spears stamped on the front cover. The second, a dark, royal blue with a symbol of an owl perched on an olive branch. And the third looked a sea green, with the bronze head of a trident rising from the background, almost glowing.

She skimmed the books but they failed to give her the inspiration she needed to start her opus. She shook her head and rolled her eyes as she jabbed her quill on the paper; marking it with ink. 'Well Calliope, at least the paper isn't blank anymore' she mused to herself. She began to scribble some words down and before long the story spilled forth from her mind and out onto the paper…

* * *

Deep, down under the earth, away from the life-giving rays of the sun; lay the sprawling realm of Hades: The Underworld. Souls arrived in that dark, dank place by way of the ferryman Charon: a ghoulish, pale creature with black unseeing eyes and cloaked in a black robe. The souls he ferried to the Underworld, began vibrant with life and color from the world above, only to fade and fall silent as they crossed the River Styx.

Now this was no ordinary river, so ancient and powerful, the Gods themselves swore by it to keep their solemn word. It kept the dead from returning to the Land of the Living; but it also kept the recently departed from reaching peace. Only through Charon could a soul travel across the river. But Charon didn't run a charity. You could only cross if you could pay your way. Should you fail to, your soul would be doomed to wander the far shore, never to rest for all eternity.

Over the centuries, the Styx became choked with the shattered, broken dreams of mortals. Wedding dresses, baby clothes, totaled cars from high school proms and soaking college diplomas clogged the river.

On the other shore, the souls disembarked and then slowly shuffled down three lines; leading to gates manned by ghouls and harpies. But before them stood the massive Cerberus, a monstrous three headed dog who kept any living soul from breaking into Hades' domain. Now to set the record straight, Cerberus isn't a three headed Mastiff, he's a Doberman. And to be honest, he's a sucker for red rubber balls. If you want to get on his good side just throw him one or two to keep the heads busy. And second, he's not even Hades'; he's Hecate's. He's just dog sitting for her, but that's another story…

One of the three lines was ridiculously long and slow. If you get through the gate you wound up on the Fields of Asphodel. A black, dry field with a couple of black poplar trees and lots of people aimlessly walking around. Nothing bad happens there, but you're forced to stay there forever, walking around; trying to remember who you were and failing miserably.

The next gate had a short line with people crying, screaming, and pleading. The people who had the terrible fate to stand there accounted for the worst of the worst. Embezzlers, terrorists, murderers… the works. The three judges of death would look at each of them and give them either a thumb's up or down. If someone were to get a thumb's down, they got sent to the Fields of Punishment. Three thumbs down and they got sent to Tartarus, the worst place in all of creation; with Hades waiting on the side just itching to saddle you up with a personal hell to suffer through for the rest of eternity. If you know the stories of Tantalus and Sisyphus, you know the guy has a wild imagination.

And the last gate had the shortest line of them all. The three judges of death would determine if you could pass or got bumped over to the very long, slow line. But this line went to the Fields of Elysium. A sparkling green field, touched by the warm glow of the sun. Trees and flowers bloomed as a pleasant breeze blew constantly. People laughed, played, and spent eternity happily there. And in the very heart of Elysium were the Isles of the Blest.

Three tiny specks in a giant crystal blue lake. The people who lived there, knew no hardship, lived in massive houses, were waited on hand and foot in complete comfort. How to get to these islands? Simple really. You merely had to die honorably and then get sent back up to the Land of the Living to have another life. If you do this two more times, then you're all set. But based on the few people who live on the islands, you can probably guess it's not so easy to do. Most people are content with Elysium, but some people have a go at it. This is where my newest story begins from the perspective of my ascending hero...

* * *

The judges sat in their black varnished, leather seats staring at the soul before them, me. They busily shuffled through the paperwork and notes they had for my case and wondered what was running through my head. The man on the far left spoke first. A tall, skinny, pale man with a golden crown on his head. He leered at the soul before him, "You first died in the 1860's is that so?" I hesitantly nodded. "You didn't attempt rebirth for almost fifty years, only to die in the 1910's. You've waited over a hundred years to reincarnate. What got you to change your mind?"

I stood resolutely silent and stared at the king.

"Now Minos" the man in the middle replied. "There is no time limit for a soul to rebirth. They may choose to remain in Elysium however long they wish. Just because you are envious of this virtuous soul, does not mean you get to throw a fit".

Minos growled, "Can it Jefferson, just because you were a president, doesn't mean you get to tell me what to do. I was a King of Greece!"

"Right, well at the end of the day, I get to go back to my artichoke farm and relax at my manor Monticello in Elysium. While you end up sulking under the fiery whip of one of Hades' furies". Minos' fist grew white as he clenched it tight. "I rest my case" Jefferson coolly replied as he reclined in his chair with a grin on his face.

"Enough" the third man complained. "This stiff want to take a stab at living again, then I say go for it" The dirty man reached over for an apple sitting innocently on the table, but just before he grabbed it, it rolled off the table and fell into one of the cracks leading to Tartarus. "Damn it all to hell!"

"Too late, it's already there. No use even trying Tantalus" Jefferson quipped. "You know my father made it so you'd never eat or drink a single thing, ever again".

"I surprise the Gods with a gag dinner and I get punished for all eternity for it" Tantalus groaned as he attempted to pour himself a glass of water. It instantly vanished into a cloud of hot vapor.

"You tried to get Zeus to eat your cooked-up sons. How was that a gag?" Minos replied, trying to get attention off himself.

"Oh screw you Minos"

"Regardless" Jefferson interrupted. "This has nothing to do with our current case. If you feel you wish to make the attempt, then by all means I support your decision" Jefferson gave me a thumb's up. Minos sighed as he shrugged and gave a thumb's up. Tantalus sat there in a foul mood, still stewing over his suicidal apple. When he finally noticed the other two were glaring at him intensely he rolled his eyes and jabbed his thumb up.

I gave a polite nod before turning away and walking from the judge's stand.

* * *

Lumbering about on the dark gravel beach, I made it to the banks of a wailing river. No seriously, as the water crashed over the rocks, it sounded as if people were crying out in pain, anguish and loss.

I looked out across the way and could see the distant light of the Land of the Living, and behind me, the glow of Elysium. I could still hear the cheerful voices of the people there. Friends, a lifetime spent there... 'I could always turn back and return to Paradise…' I considered.

'No' I shook my head and intently stood there waiting for the ferryman to show up. A dark shadow loomed over me. Turning around, I saw a man standing tall with an oily beard and long black hair. A wild intensity beamed from his eyes and his dark clothes appeared to writhe and moan on him. Lord Hades. "It is not every day, I greet a soul departing from Elysium. You ought to be commended" I stood there staring out on the river, barely listening to him.

"I will not bar your way. But if you wish to proceed, you must drink from the River Lethe". I looked down at the milky white water slowly flowing by. Falling to my knees, I rushed forward to reach into the water. "But hold" Hades warned. "If you drink from its water, the River of Forgetfulness shall wash away your life. Everything that you are at this moment will flow away with the water; leaving you a blank canvas. The dead cannot take back what they have seen here to the Land of the Living. Do you really want to do this?"

My hands hesitantly floated above the water. I peered into the water but the torrent obscured my reflection. I had already forgotten so much just walking away from Elysium, even my face. Only the dream of the Isles of Blest remained with me.

With a a shake of my head, I dunked my hands into the water and instantly felt bone-chilling cold. Then I slowly brought the water up to my lips and took a slurp. My eyes grew wide and empty, my face expressionless. I remained there kneeling by the bank of the crying river, my memories washing away; as if they were a stain on my mind.

Hades reached down and helped me up onto my feet, I could barely stand, it felt as if I had forgotten how to even walk. "You are brave, very brave. Know that I could never do, what you have done". A creaky wooden barge crashed onto shore. Charon stood there with gondola stick in hand as he stared blankly at his Lord. "Take this one with you on your return trip. And handle carefully, this is the third attempt".

Charon gave a toothy grin, "If I do my Lord, would you be willing to give me that pay raise I've been asking for?"

"Gah!" Lord Hades tore at his hair in exasperation. "What I pay you is serviceable. If you would lay off those Armani suits you love to indulge in, you would see that I speak the truth" The Lord of Darkness vanished with a flick of his cloak into the blackness.

"Yeesh, I was only asking" Charon grumbled to himself. He looked over at his passenger, "alright stiffy let's take you topside. Hope I don't see you again. Too soon" Charon added with a devilish smile as I stared blankly out into the distance. Charon pushed off and made for the other side.

In an instant, the warm, wetness of the Underworld vanished and was replaced with a blindingly bright, cold light. A wail exploded into the air as arms closed tight around me. I stopped and looked up, to see the smiling face of a young lady with sandy blonde hair and brown eyes. She had a smile that stretched from cheek to cheek as she nuzzled close. "Congrats Ms. Conecke" another lady's voice called out. "It's a boy".

"Aww, how precious" she cradled the little baby in her arms, rocking him tiredly. "I'll call him Alex, Alexander Conecke". The baby cooed, I cooed, as I reached out for the lady's face, my mother's face. A thunderbolt crashed outside and I turned to look out the window. The face of a man appeared in the rain droplets and the man gave a tentative wave. I cackled happily at the man and my blue-green eyes twinkled. The man smiled as he slowly slipped off the window and fell to the ground.

.


	2. Return of Jaws

**Chapter 1: Return of Jaws**

Calliope mumbled to herself as she unintentionally poked her face with her quill, marking it with black ink. 'Good start, but where do I go from here?' Her face lit up as she smiled and put her quill back to the paper, divine inspiration had come knocking...

* * *

So that little baby boy was me, Alex Conecke, the apple of his mother's eye... at least that's what my mother would tell me. Honestly though, it always seemed like I was getting into trouble, but she explained that away with the wonderful phrase 'boys will be boys'. We lived on the Florida coastline and I took advantage of that. Every morning I'd wake up at the crack of dawn, stretch and kick my sheets off onto the floor.

I groaned and went over to the sink to wash my face. Looking in the mirror, I saw my short blonde hair was a rat's nest, poking out in every direction, just the usual. My skin was a healthy caramel tan, compliments of the Florida Sun, which made my blue-green eyes pop. I like to think I look pretty good: toned from all the swimming and running; but also built from weight practice and wrestling. I look better than some high school seniors four years older than me. Heck if I wanted to, I could probably have walked into a liquor shop and come out with a keg. The only giveaway was the fact I didn't have a single hair to my name below my eye brows…

I shrugged at my reflection and looked out the window. The sea had some nice curls breaking on the beach. The sun lit up the water; making it that usual deep Florida blue. I loved days like this. Not that I minded the rainy ones; I liked those too. They reminded me of a smile and a vaguely good feeling. The rain always left me feeling calm and refreshed.

I bounded down the steps and raced across the room, heading for the back door. "Alex?" my mother called out from the kitchen. The smell of eggs and bacon wafting in. "Where're you in a rush off to?"

I rolled my eyes with a smile as I headed over to my surfboard leaning against the wall. "Ugh" Ms. Conecke shook her head as she smiled knowingly. "You couldn't be like any other teenager out there and wake up at the crack of noon?"

"Nope, carpe diem Mom. Carpe diem". I teased as I reached out for my sea green surfboard.

"At least have some breakfast first?" she half asked, half demanded as she flipped an omelet with the skill of a French chef.

I reached into the fruit bowl, pulled out an apple; gave it a toss and then chomped a bite out of it and held it in my mouth. "Mkay?" I mumbled behind the apple.

"Why do I even bother?" she sighed dramatically as she held up her hands in defeat and then smiled. "Go, have fun, I'll see you in a bit".

* * *

I walked the five-minute stretch down the hot asphalt in worn out flip flops. I stumbled across the sand like a penguin as the wind slammed into my board, threatening to knock me over. When I made it to the water's edge; I pulled off my muscle shirt and tossed it out of reach of the water. Then I stood there, board at my side and took a deep breath and then let it out as I basked in the morning sun. The sea breeze blowing past me and the crashing of the waves just in front of me, practically inviting me to jump right in.

I cracked a grin and hefted my board and crashed right in, "Cowabunga!" I screamed as I charged.

I paddled out slowly, letting my arms and legs get used to the refreshing water. Then I got off from my belly and onto my knees. Then I waited as a wave slowly made its way across the water. I crouched onto the front of my feet and grabbed ahold of the edge of the board with one hand, and held out the other for balance. And then the wave whisked me away.

"Whoa!" I cheered and got up completely and leaned a bit forward; riding the wave back to the shore. I'd turn around, touch the wave, do flips and turns with the grace of a dolphin. I looked ahead of me and to my surprise, riding in the curl was a leaping dolphin. "Well hey there, aren't you cool?"

The dolphin leaped from the water and, as if it understood me, replied with an excited chatter before dropping back under the water. As I kept riding the wave, I noticed that there were grey torpedoes streaking under me. Then they broke the surface. "A whole pod of you, that's awesome!"

They followed me as I rode the wave and then swam back out into the water. They would circle around; chasing after fish and breaking the surface to snort through their blowholes. One even jumped out of the water and flew right over me as I sat on my board. "Show off!" I pleasantly sputtered from the splash.

* * *

Then, all at once, the dolphins vanished under the deep blue water and disappeared. "Well that was weird, but okay". I got up to catch one last wave, feeling pretty beat up by the wave action. I'd just gotten into the curl when something knocked into the back end of my board and it jerked out from under me. Wipeout...

"Phew" I surfaced and spat out a gulp of salt water. "Well that was random. Nice move fish friends" I grumbled at the dolphins. But then a single, large black fin broke the surface and barreled toward me. My eyes went wide as I screamed, "Shark!" and then started kicking away like mad.

Now to be fair, this was Florida, sharks are a part of everyday life. Black-Tip Reef Sharks swim twenty-five feet off the coast on most days. But usually they left people well enough alone; unless they were stupid enough to walk in with a bleeding cut or a hot dog. But this thing charged right at me like I was on the menu.

I looked over my shoulder and watched as the big shadow torpedoed toward me and then rocketed out of the water. It crashed right on top of my board; reducing it splinters.

I sputtered as I shook my fist at it. "What the heck! That was my board". Then the shark's head broke the surface with its jaws wide open. The top of its head was black, its belly a ghostly white. Its eyes gleamed like polished onyx and its teeth like hundreds of sharpened, silvery knives. The shark chomped at me and splashed around as I broke off. "Never mind you can have it!"

Then Jaws charged for me, ready to chop me in half; when it suddenly veered off to the side. "Huh, I'm still alive?" Then I saw them. The dolphins had returned and they were slamming into Sharkzilla.

"Go dolphins!" The shark turned toward the noise and fixed a shiny black eye on me before rushing toward me. "Gah!" I broke into a sloppy, speedy freestyle stroke.

When I finally made it onto dry land I crawled onto the sand and then collapsed onto my back heaving in and out. Then I got up onto my butt and watched the fight. The dolphins were distracting the monster, but sooner or later; one of them would end up making a mistake and end up as chum.

I looked out helplessly and then slammed my fist on the ground. "Leave them alone!" And then the earth shook; followed by something like from out of the Bible. The ocean split in half, with the dolphins safe on one side and the giant shark angrily stalking on the other side. I raised my hand and then swatted it away and the over-sized fish went skipping across the ocean like a stone.

The dolphins swam in close to shore as the sea fell back in on itself. I fell back exhausted as I warily looked at them. They chattered in an excited voice, "thank you lord" and then jumped back into the waves and swam away.

I face planted myself before staggering back on my feet, tripping over the sand, and running all the way home. "I'm going crazy!"


	3. Cock-a-Doodle-Doom!

**Chapter 2: Cock-a-Doodle-Doom!**

I ran through the open back door and closed it right behind me. I reached up and bolted it and then put my back to the door, as if trying to keep something out. "Are you alright Alexander?"

"Yah ha hah!" I jumped a foot in the air. My mother looked at me with her head at a tilt, with a plate of eggs and hash browns in her hand. "Yeah, I'm good" I replied once my heart settled back down into my chest.

"Are you sure?" Mothers always seem to know when their kids are up to something. She looked at me oddly, "where's your surfboard?"

"I ugh, I left it back on the beach". She looked at me with an eyebrow raised and she crossed her arms. "I'll go back for it later, I have to use the bathroom". I rocketed past her, running up the steps to my room, sending her into a spin as I rushed past.

"Whoa nellie" she flattened her apron as she leaned against the wall and stared up the stair well. "Must be a number two" she quietly muttered to herself. "I just hope he remembers to spray some Febreze afterwards, otherwise he'll make the whole upstairs smell like the tide's gone out" she shuddered at the thought.

* * *

I closed the door behind me and went to my desk and sat down. It couldn't have happened, I must have been dreaming. Sharkzillas and talking dolphins, that's just not real life. I felt something poking me in my swim trunks. I had a tear on the side and turned pale as a ghost on sight. A giant tooth, shaped like a knife, with a shine like steel. "Oh god it was real" I muttered to myself, growing sick to my stomach.

I put the tooth on the desk and then got up. I shook my hands, trying to get rid of my nervousness. It's cool, I lived, just walk it off. Need something to get my mind off of it.

I went to the middle of the room and saw the punching bag hanging from the ceiling. A present from mom on my tenth birthday after she was called by the principal about a fight I got into. She told me to punch the bag and not my bully's face the next time I got pissed off.

I taped my hands and got into position, legs shoulder width apart and hands up. I threw a left, then a right. I rolled back with the punches as the bag began to sway. The bag started to swing higher and higher with each perfectly timed blow. I kneed the bag with my right leg and then my left when my hands started getting tired. And then to finish it off I tackled the bag with my shoulder and stopped it cold.

I brought a hand up and wiped my forehead with the back of it. Then I went to the peanut bag hanging next to it. I brought my hands up and then started whaling on it.

Thump, thump, thump… In the zone. The bag smacked against the ceiling with the beat of a machine gun. And then I imagined Sharkzilla's schnauz. They say to scare a shark off, you should punch it in the nose.

With a final crack, I throttled the bag with my fist and sent it flying off the chain; across the room and onto my desk.

"Shit" I hissed out-loud as I went over to the bag. Then I noticed something odd on my desk. There was a book. An old one, bound in red leather and covered in cracks. It had a symbol of a boar's head with a pair of crossed spears under it stamped on the front cover. The leather was stained with brownish spots and had a rusted smell to it.

I picked up the book and turned it over, it had a library barcode taped on. And on the return slip was today's date stamped on. "Where'd this thing come from?"

I opened it up and realized, it was a journal, filled on every page with writing. I like reading as much as the next person, but not journals. I have problems as it is making out typed words with the dyslexia. But the handwriting made it even worse. You can tell a lot about person from their writing, and this person had to be a dude. The words were sloppy, like they were written in a rush and the letters ran over each other and squished together.

"Beau" that's who signed it. The name sent a shudder down my spine.

* * *

I pulled up a chair and plopped myself down, taking in the smell of old, yellowed paper as I read the first entry…

"I was christened Beauregard Arrington, though I usually go by Beau. I'll admit taint much of a writer. But my mother wanted me to keep a log of my travels and write about all I see. I guess I'll start with a bit about myself.

Born and raised in Georgia by my Mama, Ms. Analise Arrington. The two of us live on the family plantation, keeping it running after my granddad passed. My pa fell off the wayside and left for parts unknown. But it's alright, I'm not bitter" the word was written so harshly, the pencil that wrote it almost cut through the paper.

"We grow peaches on the property, big, juicy ones. Mama takes 'em and whips 'em up with sugar and slowly boils them over the stove until it renders down to preserve. You've never lived until you had a lick o' Mama's preserve. Mhm, finest in the state.

I spend much of my day learning to be respectful and dignified gentleman. Although I don't know who we're trying to fool here, I am a proper bastard you know. I much prefer to while the hours working the orchards, tending the trees, picking fruit and working with the black-hands. Everyone stares and whispers about us when they think we're not looking. They say we have too loose a leash on our property, and it ain't proper to work beside them. But Mama's always treated them right and fair, so I do too. Why mess with a good thing. Me and the others pick plenty of fruit to keep Mama busy. It's only when they bummer off, when the help get worse than a scolding.

But I digress…

It was a day like any other. It's part of the morning chores for me to get out of bed and feed the hens. I usually get up before the rooster crows, but today it was particularly early to welcome the morn. I got up with my bucket of feed and a straw hat and walked up to the hen house.

I looked out in the orchard and realized that there was no one around yet. 'Confounded, bellyaching bird, going to wring its neck one of these days'.

When I got to the chicken coop, I threw open the doors, expecting a rush of hens. Instead, I only saw three empty nests, lined with white feathers and a couple of cracked eggs. 'What the devil happened in here?'

'Cock-a-Doodle' the red rooster crowed from the beam above me.

'What, there a fox in here or something? Where're your hens?'

The rooster fluttered clumsily down to the ground and ruffled its feathers as it stalked toward me. I looked at it as it oddly marched up to me. With each step it took, the bird started growing bigger and bigger. Its eyes turned bloody red and its beak turned a bronze yellow and shined like metal. It picked up its foot and its tiny claws grew into huge talons. The bird towered over me and belted, 'Cock-a-Doodle-Doom!'

'I'm gonna go, go absquatulate yeah... Now you stay over there. Nice bird, there's a good birdie'. I turned tail as I bolted out of the hen house.

The door of the coop flew off as the giant rooster crowed loudly before charging after me.

I ran off to the stables looking for help every which way, but there was none to be had. I hid behind a beam and the rooster attempted to flush me out, but I stayed on the far side of the wood away from it. The rooster crowed before pecking the beam, causing it to splinter in front of me. 'Well bully for you' I groaned as I leapt into the hay to hide out of sight.

The rooster jumped in, looking for me with its beady red eyes, as it clawed at the straw with its giant feet. I pushed myself to the wall to get as far away as I could and poked myself on something, almost jumping out of the hay from surprise. I reached back and pulled a pitchfork from my rump. 'Well if that don't beat all' I muttered to myself.

I rolled out of the hay, under the bird. It looked down at me like a tasty worm and began to crow, 'Cock-a-Doodle'

'You're a bad egg' I interrupted as I brought up my pitchfork and jabbed it right in the belly.

The bird looked down at me in disbelief, 'Cock-a-Doodle-boom?' it whimpered as it exploded in a shower of golden dust; leaving only a single, red feather fluttering down onto me.

I picked up the red feather and eyed it curiously as I started singing, 'stuck a feather in his cap and called it macaroni' I cracked a grin as I jabbed it into the rim of my straw hat.

'Beau?' I turned and saw my Mama shaking like a little girl who'd seen a ghost. 'We need to have a talk honey...'


	4. How Mama and Daddy Met

**Chapter 3: How Mama and Daddy Met**

I eyed the journal carefully. How old is this thing? The guy's talking about slaves. What's this thing doing, sitting in my room?

Beau got attacked by Cluckzilla and I get almost chomped by Sharkzilla. Seems real fishy, excuse the pun.

I shook my head casting aside the feeling as complete coincidence and jumped back into the journal.

* * *

"Like a proper gentleman, I held out an arm and she took it, leaning into me as she walked, I could still feel her shaking like a leaf in the wind. We retired to the salon where Mama sat in a very plush chair, stuffed full of southern cotton. She waited impatiently as she twiddled her fingers as our server girl, Addie. came in with a pewter tray, carrying a plate of biscuits and tea. The young negro girl was quiet and pleasant to be around and efficient in her work. Once everything was set on the table, she backed off and then paused at the door. 'Would you be needing anything else Mistress?'

Mama reached over for a cup of warm tea and took a sip to calm her nerves. She gave a hesitant smile as she looked up at Addie and replied, 'no thank you my dear. Please see to it that we are not disturbed'.

Addie gave a deep nod and curtsied before promptly leaving the room. Mama immediately sagged in on herself, as if she was holding herself together just for appearance's sake. She fixed me with a stern eye as she asked me in that no-nonsense tone of hers, 'What happened?'

I rubbed the back of my neck uncomfortably, not sure I could recount what happened without sounding like a madman. 'Out with-it Beauregard, no pussyfooting around'. I reluctantly told her about the rooster turning into a giant monster and how I struck it down and made it explode into fine dust.

* * *

Mama shuddered at the thought as she fixed her eye on the feather in my cap. 'Alectryon' she whispered the name in fear.

'Who's that Mama?'

'The rooster, a creature of myth. He was once a young man who was tasked by a very important man to keep watch while he engaged in a less than appropriate tryst. The boy failed in his duties and another man spied on the Lord fooling around with a married Lady. The Lord managed to silence the spy, but for failing in his duties, he cursed the boy and transformed him into a rooster; doomed to crow at the crack of dawn for all eternity. Beau, that man was Lord Ares, and he's your Daddy'.

I looked at her in disbelief. I took a look around the room and then broke into a deep laugh. 'Oh gosh Mama, we're did you come up with a cockamamie story like that? Are the help hiding around and you're trying to pull a joke on me?'

Mama's eyes grew stormy. Last time she looked like that, she went into her apron, pulled out a wooden spoon and swatted me on the butt like silly till I broke down sobbing. 'I'm serious son. Your daddy is Lord Ares, as God's my witness, if there be a God out there'.

I questioned my Mama's sanity, just a bit, but I decided to humor her. 'And where did you end up meeting a god?'

Mama's eyes twinkled as the memories formed in her mind. 'I remember like it was yesterday. My father was alive and arranged to have a party at the estate. He said it was to have old friends close at hand for the holidays, but I knew he was searching for an appropriate gentleman caller for me. I was nineteen at the time, coming into my beauty and was the pinnacle of charm and grace. He felt it was high time for me to soon wed and have children of my own.

But I was stubborn and an independent woman. It made many of the men run for the hills or turn away from me. Or I didn't they think were up for the challenge and I turned down their advances. And then He came. It was a cold winter's night and I remember shivering in my dress, but when I saw your Daddy, I felt like I was warmed from the inside. Oh the guests complained that there was something odd about him, and the other gentlemen were a bit more rowdy around him. There were a few brawls that night. But Ares handled himself deftly and took care of the offending menfolk.

He was something. In a grey cotton dress uniform with two rows of medals pinned on his chest. He had merits from fighting pirates off the Barbary Coast, fighting in wars in Europe and medals from the War of 1812. He had such a smile on him. And his eyes. If eyes were windows to his soul, then his were full of fire and passion.

We danced the night away, he said he found my strong personality charming. How I could stand alone without the company of a man beside me; yet I chose to be with him. It was part truth, but also flattery. I was a naive young miss and allowed a handsome stranger to play with my heartstrings, and we fell into bed together.

After all was said and done, he warned me that choosing to lay with a god had a price to pay. I looked at him in fear as he got up and his uniform burst into a set of bronze armor and he exploded in a fiery column.

Your grandfather was livid with what I had done, and he didn't even know the whole story. He had hoped that we wouldn't have to pay for the mistake I made. But nine months later, I bore a son. A little boy with twinkling burnt brown eyes and dark brown hair, an uncanny resemblance to the strange man. He visited me you know, your Daddy, that night. He warned me that you would be in danger because of your mixed parentage. Creatures of the dark and past would seek you out and wish for your death. He wanted to send you away to a camp. With other children with similar parentage. But I was selfish. I couldn't bear to part with you. No man would have me because I had you, but I could never give you up. My child, my love' she started sobbing as she brought her neckerchief to her face and blew her nose loudly and without decorum.

'He said that my foolishness and determination would be your downfall. And now I fear after all these years he was right'. She reached for my hand and weakly clasped it hers. 'You need to go to this camp, Camp Half-Blood. There you'll be safe from harm. I questioned the idea of sending you there many, many times, but the risk is too great not to. You'll go to Long Island, New York' she declared with absolute certainty.

'But Mama!' I cried out in disbelief, I've never been out of Georgia, let alone up North. Why would I go, now of all times with the Yanks getting uppity?'

'Your daddy is waiting for you there' She declared as I stared at her with a slack jaw. She reached forward and closed it with a flick of her hand. 'Close your mouth son, lest you attract flies. You will take the coach up North. Malcolm will accompany you. And don't you worry about a thing here. The help I have here is your Daddy's doing. Your grandad didn't leave a penny to me. But Ares made sure that I'd be well taken care of. In any case, go pack your things son, and make all haste. Alectryon came seeking revenge, trying to kill you, one of Ares' sons. But he is the least of your worries' she ominously told me with a haunted look on her face.


	5. A Trip to the Library

**Chapter 4: A Trip to the Library**

I closed the book and looked at it with suspicion and dread. Gods, Monsters and Camps: is it possible that it's all real? I turned over the journal and saw the library barcode shining at me. Nah, it couldn't be. I'm going crazy over nothing. This thing is due today anyway. Better just dump it and get rid of it.

I clomped down the steps with lead feet as my mother turned to look up at me. She smiled as she closed her latest Harlequin book, "are you feeling better Alex ? I heard you working the bags upstairs".

"Yeah", I rubbed the back of my neck tensely. "I had to loosen up, a bit on edge".

"You lost your surfboard didn't you?" she asked in a knowing voice.

I groaned annoyed, didn't lose it exactly. More like had it smashed to splinters by a giant shark, but I couldn't say that. "Yeah" I lamely replied as my shoulders sagged.

She gave me a half grin as she replied, "Buck up sweetheart. That board was getting a bit small for you anyway. I know, if you run this book back to the library for me, I'll go and pick up a new board for you in the meantime".

"Really?" I asked in surprise.

She nodded with a growing smile, when she saw me start to grin. What? It's a new board, I hadn't gotten one since I turned ten. Come to think of it, ten was a good year for presents. "Just make sure to get me the next Harlequin novel for me while you're at it".

I blushed as I retreated out the door, "But mom, why would I go to chick books aisle. It'll be embarrassing".

"Sweetheart, standing in the lady's aisle of the library for five minutes is probably worth a new surfboard. Get it for me. Please…!" she whined like a little kid.

Ehh mothers… "Alright, I'll get it" I grumbled quietly.

"Yay! Off you go then. I have to get going too".

I paused at the front door to look back at her. She noticed me looking at her and asked me, "something on your mind?"

"Uhm" I rubbed the back of my neck uncomfortably. I couldn't help having Dad on my mind. After all, if anybody would know about him, it'd be her. I wanted, no I needed to know the truth. But I was also nervous. "Never mind Mom". I walked out the door and headed over to the library.

* * *

I kicked myself over and over. It should be an easy enough question. 'Who was my dad?' But the thing was. It's always been my Mom and me. When we had parent teacher conferences, she was the one who came in to appease my teachers, foolishly promising them I'd be more responsible. When I scrapped my knee and started crying when I was little, it was always Mom who hugged me and kissed it and made it better. And when it was Halloween who was the one who always took me out trick-or-treating? If you guessed my Mom, then you're right.

All around the house there were pictures of me, my Mom, or both of us together. A few of some close friends, and one of my grandparents. But my Dad? He was persona non grata. Someone who had to have existed, but left no mark on life except for me. No pictures, or videos. No one could even tell me about him. I asked my grandparents about him when I was a kindergartner once, but they didn't even know what he looked like, or what his name was.

My mom never mentioned him, not even in passing. He must not have been a bad guy, because she's complained about bad boyfriends she had in the past. But then again, she's never said anything good about him either. Just nothing.

I broke out of my train of thought and walked up to the big glass library with panels framed with steel. I shrugged my shoulders, as if trying to unload my emotional baggage.

* * *

I walked through the sliding doors, feeling the blast of air conditioning hit me before the doors closed behind me. The tinkling of wind chimes went off. I watched as the little silver owl spun around in the breeze.

As I slipped up the blue carpet leading up to the front desk, it looked like the bubbles and fish woven in it were floating about in the flickering sunlight. On either side of me were aisles and aisles of books: science fiction, myth, adventure/action, mystery, the works. I made it to the counter and looked up at the librarian.

She had her back to me, I could see her wavy, dirty blonde hair fell to her shoulders. Then she turned around to look at me with this Mona Lisa smile, a little, teasing one that said, 'I know something you don't know…' She had strange bronze studs in her ears; shaped like a screaming pair of women with hissing, twisting snakes for hair. And on the counter, were a set of books with a bookend on each side. One was made of marble and looked like a miniature Parthenon; while the other was a stuffed Spotted Owl mounted on a branch. The books framed in between them included the odd mix of Sherlock Holmes, Weaving, Scrapbooking and Crafts for Dummies, Feng Shui, and Strategies of Sun Tsu.

She asked me as she stamped 'returned' on the books in the return pile, "Hello, how may I assist you?"

I crossed my arms, looking at her as if she didn't belong. "Who are you? Where's Mr. Seymore?"

The lady's smile widened as she continued her work. "Mr. Seymore had to take a personal day. So I stepped in to fill for him. I am Ms. Pallas, you know, like another word for castle".

"Uh huh, if you say so. I'm here to return these" I handed her the books. She carelessly tossed the Harlequin book into the returned pile. And then looked at the red journal as if it were a painful memory. "And I need to pick up the latest Harlequin book for my Mom".

The woman shook her head from annoyance, "Common sense, let alone wisdom is not the purview of most of the characters in those prosaic books. Real life doesn't work like that, but to each their own". She went to the back room and brought back three books. "The latest drivel of popular romance, compliments of the writers of Harlequin." She gave me a eagle-eyed gaze, as if she were looking for something inside me. "I hope you find what you are looking for Alexander Conecke".

"Yeah right" I offhandedly replied over my shoulder. Then I stopped walking when I got to the sliding door. I looked down at the library card in my hand and realized it was my mother's. How did she know my name?

I looked down at the books in my hand. The top one was definitely a cheesy chick book with a guy and a woman making out on the front cover. The second book was a blue leather-bound journal with the seal of an owl and olive branch stamped on the cover. And the last book was none other than Beau's journal, with bar code and return slip mysteriously missing on both journals.

I turned around ready to return the extra books when I realized that the weird librarian was gone. And in her place, was Mr. Seymore; shuffling about and putting away books and DVD rentals. The weird books and bookends on the counter were gone and even the wind chimes hanging by the doorway had vanished without a trace.

* * *

I could take a hint, something strange was going on here and it's probably best that I got going...

I made it back home in one piece; which yesterday would not have been a big deal. Today I consider it a little miracle. My mother was already back from the surf shop and told me that they were working on my board. Apparently, she custom ordered and put out all the stops on it to make it look completely epic. Of course, she wouldn't let me know what it looked like, telling me it was a surprise. I don't mind either way, so long as she didn't make it pink. God anything but pink...

I handed her the latest sappy romance while I kept the journals with me. She gave them a moment's glance before turning to her book and cracking it open. She knew I liked to read a lot, so she left me alone... What? I may be a jock but I like a good book.

I headed up stairs and then went into my room. I tossed Beau's journal on the bed while I cracked open the other one. I thought at first the journals were like a series. Each one just having a different cover. But inside I noticed it was also hand written. But this wasn't the same handwriting as Beau's. This person had to have been a girl. Every word was written perfectly with a patient hand. The letters were uniform, consistent and most importantly, neat.

With nothing better to do, I looked down at the first entry and began to read.


	6. The Femme Fatale of Spiders

**Chapter 5: the Femme Fatale of Spiders**

"Hello" the writer began her entry. The next few lines were written, crossed out, with more writing afterward and then more blacking out. Finally the writer began writing words again. "I am not sure what to write exactly. What does one write in a journal? It feels strange to pour out all of my thoughts on paper for anyone to read. But I guess as long as no one actually reads this, I'll be fine.

My name is Catherine, Catherine Macintyre. Not tire, my family are British, not Yanks.

Anyway, I suppose I should offer a bit about myself. I am fourteen years old, born in 1900. My father is a professor at Columbia University where he teaches courses about Greek and Roman Architecture and Art. I was perfectly happy across the Pond, growing up in London. But no, Father thought, in his infinite wisdom, to pack our bags and send the two of us off to America. To New York City of all places.

I don't know how I'll manage. I've left all of my friends behind and I'm in a strange place. Oh I still send them telegrams, but you can't have a proper conversation with only two lines of text on the dollar. Much too expensive. And letters, well you can cram them full of words, but by the time you send it off and get a reply; you forget what was in the letter you sent in the first place.

It is not really that bad though. I spend most of my day, studying books and reading in the apartment. And what with all the furniture from home; it doesn't really feel like I left England at all. Why while away my days like this? Why because I wish to make Father proud of me. He wants me to attend his institution when I come of age. And on the side, he tells me that me being such a bookworm and intellectual reminds him of Mother. Oh he doesn't tell me much about her, but told me enough to make me curious. She sounded like a wonderful woman with a good head on her shoulders. I just wish I had the chance to meet her. She left to teach at a different university than Father when I was very little.

I do have a photograph of her. She looks so serious with those stormy grey eyes. They truly were grey, not just because of the black and white. She left me a parting gift. A broach that I use to pin my button down coat closed. It was terribly frightful to look at, the face of a screaming woman with slit eyes and snakes in her hair. However, it also seemed to keep the occasional spider and pest away. A pip for picnics to be sure.

* * *

In any case, I supposedly do Father proud, but it hasn't been easy. Reading and writing come like a struggle to me. The words seem to lift off the page and flutter about. But dash it all, I press on.

But sometimes it becomes too much in any case, and I am forced to take a respite. I closed my latest book on the Rise and Fall of Empires of Europe. I slipped on a blue coat and then took my key, popped in the elevator and rode down to ground floor.

Right out of the lobby I walk right out to the seemingly impossible dichotomy that is Manhattan. On my side of the busy street with horse drawn carriages, cable cars and pedestrians, buildings of concrete and steel tower high up into the sky. And on the other side was the rich greenery of Central Park. I took a deep breath, ending up coughing on smog and braved the traffic and ran into the park.

Once past the gates, I let loose my breath with a deep sigh of relief and then slowly strolled on the path.

It was odd seeing the giant skyscrapers framing me in on all sides but I attempted to ignore them. I focused instead on the greenery, the birds chirping in the trees and pecking the ground.

I was looking for a place by one of the ponds to sit down and look out across the water when I stepped on a bit of thread. It stuck to the bottom of my shoe, and I lifted it up to take a closer look. It was a fine white, silky strand. But what business it had being in the middle of Central Park I hadn't the foggiest notion.

Then I noticed that the thread wasn't loose. That it kept going down a path as if someone had unrolled a ball of yarn. I shrugged my shoulders as I followed with curiosity, slowly rolling the thread back up into a ball.

I followed it through deer paths, flower gardens, past the ice skating rink and deeper into the park. The greenery soon grew so dense, I had to hold the ball of thread with one hand, and use my other hand to pull away the branches and brambles.

Finally, I broke into a clearing and took a look around. There wasn't a single soul in sight. All around me, the trees were draped with sheets of what looked like silk. I gave it a light touch and almost couldn't pry my hand off. It was soft, but also sticky like a…

My thoughts crashed as my eyes went wide and slowly looked around. I backed myself into the way I came when I leaned into something fuzzy and moving that definitely was not there previously. I turned around in an instant and let loose a glass shattering shriek at the sight of a terrifying black spider.

But this was no ordinary spider. It was monstrous. Standing as tall as a full grown man, each of its legs had to be almost two meters long. It was covered in rough black fur and had a blood red hourglass painted on its belly. But the head, that made me shudder in disgust. It wasn't the head of a spider, with beady little eyes. But that of a woman, with long sharp canines and blood dripping from her lips".

* * *

I paused from my reading, and shook uncontrollably from the image, as if I were there to experience it myself. "God I hate spiders. Catherine sure has a way with words". I continued to read after few deep breaths.

* * *

The spider hissed as she descended on a piece of silk, thick as a rope. 'Daughter of Wisdom' it hissed as its jaws clacked together. 'It wasn't wise to come walking into my lair'.

I screamed again, making the creature cringe slightly before it growled at me. 'I have no idea what you are talking about. Get away from me!'

The spider chuckled as it hooked onto a thin thread and gave it a yank. In an instant, the ball of twine in my hand, along with the rest of me shot across the clearing and into one of the creature's arms.

'Who, what are you?' I whispered from fright.

'Wrahh!' the hellish creature screamed. 'I am Arachne! Bane of Athena, slayer of demigods. Once I was beautiful with a gift for weaving beyond compare. But then your horrid mother, Athena, cursed me and transformed me into a spider. I still weave, but instead of tapestries, I make traps, perfect for snaring tiny morsels such as yourself!"

I cringed as it got close to my face. It looked as if it would chomp my face off. And then I remembered. I reached for my coat and ripped off my broach. I stuck it right in the creature's eyes. It looked at it cross eyed for a moment before it refocused. When it did, it let out a hellish shriek before dropping me on my rump and scurrying off into the silky drapes.

I quickly got up and broke into a run. I heard Arachne scream as a set of four pairs of feet thrashed at the leaves and twigs behind me. "Come back daughter of Wisdom, I mean to have you for supper!" Saliva went flying from its mouth as she shook her head.

Catherine ran so fast, she didn't even pay attention when she ran into a little girl in a sheer green dress. She had to have been only a primary school girl, but her eyes looked ancient. She glared at me, before she looked behind me and saw Arachne on a rampage. 'Pan preserve us!' the little girl gasped as she hopped onto her bare feet and yanked me up with hidden strength. She yanked me along at a breakneck pace. 'Flee, flee for your life!' the child screamed.

We ran down the path until we came across a mighty oak. The little girl still latched onto my wrist pulling me along, right for the tree. "Tree!" I shouted we barreled straight toward it like a wrecking ball.

"I know!" the little girl replied in a panic. I expected pain and to be bounced backward on contact. Instead, we disappeared right into the tree, leaving Arachne to crash right into it, surely shattering bones, if she had any, and dropping a few acorns on her head. Much to the squirrel's delight.

Meanwhile, me and the little girl popped out of another tree. We staggered out a few steps and then collapsed onto our hands and knees. 'Oh heavens, that was a close one. I'm used to running from lovesick satyrs, not deadly spiders'.

"What?!" I cried. Then I got up and looked around. Every direction I looked, there were only trees. No sign of civilization anywhere. "Where the bloody hell are we?!"

The little girl glared at me, "may Pan yet strike you down halfling. You should be grateful I saved you".

"Sorry, thank you very much. Now where are we?"

The little girl sighed as she gestured me to follow her. When we got to the top of the hill, I saw two wooden poles and down in the valley, a three story house with baby blue siding and white trim. "Half-Blood Hill, down there is Camp Half-Blood. You will be safe now young one".

I looked at her in disbelief, "and who are you calling young? You're what four?"

"Try four hundred, give or take a few years" she quietly murmured to herself uncertainly.

I couldn't comprehend what was going on anymore. The world stopped making sense. I took the only possible, logical course of action. I fainted.

The little girl sighed tiredly as she reached under my arm and dragged me along down the hill to the big house in the vale…"


	7. Near Miss by Ms Piggy

**Chapter 6: Near Miss by Ms. Piggy**

I slammed the journal closed and tossed it on the bed as if it were covered in spiders. My heart was racing a million miles an hour. I stared at the book in horror as I thought to myself. Okay, let's see; I've read about monster chickens and killer spiders and almost gotten eaten by Jaws. If everything is saying get to some Camp in the middle of Long Island, then I should haul ass and get over there. But maybe, just maybe, my imagination is getting the better of me. If I lay low for a few days, maybe this nightmare will end and my life will go back to normal.

All of a sudden, a bolt of lightning flashed outside, and the power went dead. I jumped out of my seat with the crash of thunder; sounding as if it struck right in the backyard. I even felt the house shudder for a moment. It started raining, no pouring, like something out of forty days and forty nights. Then reality broke down. The beads of rain water on my window stopped sliding with gravity. Instead, they started creeping back up.

I watched in amazement, as the water pooled in the middle of my window and came together to form the moving picture of a man with a beard. I jumped out of my seat, away from the window and onto my bed and watched as the man wielded a three-pronged trident. His face looked deadly in the flashes of lightning.

Finally, the lights kicked back on and the man's face lit up, a smile made him look slightly less threatening. And then I remembered, "I know you".

The man groaned as he stared at me, looking me over as if memorizing every last detail. "Do you?" The man asked as his green eyes glimmered through the glass.

"Yeah, like a memory, a feeling or something. Who are you?"

The man opened his mouth to reply when an earth rumbling roar of thunder shook the sky. The man looked behind him and waved at the sky. "Oh come off it you old sod, give me some space oh King of the Heavens!" A flash of lightning burst at the man's dismissal. "I'll only be a minute, give me a MINUTE!" He shouted as the skies went quiet. The dark grey clouds were bubbling as if they were about to explode.

The man in the glass turned to look at me. He frowned and cradled his forehead. "There's not much time. I wish there was. But look, Alexander. You've got to get out of here".

"Why, what is it?!" I screamed over the rain.

"You're not dense Alex. You know why. The monsters are coming. You've already met one, and barely survived the encounter. Thank Lord Delphin for interceding on my behalf".

"Delphin? You mean the dolphins! Well thanks for that. I was almost shark bait until they showed".

"I know, and worse is coming Alex. Did you not learn from the stories of Beau and Catherine? You need to go, now!".

"Go? Go where!" The man looked like he wanted to break through the glass and strangle me with his bare hands. "Camp". The man stopped glaring at me. "Camp Half-Blood, you want me to go there".

The man nodded earnestly. "You must, if you are to survive, you must leave for Long Island. Out in the world, you won't last long. But there, you'll be safe".

"But how am I supposed to get there?"

The man helplessly shrugged. "You must make it to New York on your own. Once you get there, help will be waiting, I've sent a message ahead of you. They'll take you to camp". Thunder began to rumble again in the sky. The sky's patience seemed about to break. The man gazed at the sky with worry and then back down at me. "Don't tell your mother about me. Or the real reason you're going to Manhattan. Come up with an excuse, any at all. Visiting a friend, seeing the sights, anything! Just don't tell her".

"Why, who are you?" I asked again like a broken record player. And then, I knew. "Dad?"

He smiled wanly before a bolt of lightning flashed behind him, lighting him up in a white out, and then he was gone. All at once, the grey clouds parted and the sun shone cheerily as if it wasn't just storming.

* * *

I crept down the stairs tiredly as I found Mom looking over a window that blew in. Shards of glass littered the floor, but otherwise everything looked in one piece. "Mom? Are you okay?" I rushed down next to her. She shook her head from confusion as she looked up at the sky.

"I've seen some weird weather pull through here, but nothing like that. It's like someone was fighting up there or something". Actually, she probably wasn't that far off the mark… "But no, everything's fine. Shattered a window, but nothing a broom and dustpan can't fix. Only thing is Mr. Gnome got barbequed" She frowned at her lawn gnome still smoldering and charred black.

"Aww what a shame" I tried not to smile as I said it. With its wide-eyed gaze and wide-open mouth, it looked as if it had been frozen in a moment of terror. The thing gave me the creeps. "Mom, I got a really big favor to ask you. Like super, major, so going to owe you forever, big".

"Uhuh, I'm not telling you what your surfboard looks like young man. I told you, it's a surprise". She coyly replied.

"What? I? That's not it" I replied in exasperation. That surfboard was the farthest thing from my mind. "No, I want to go to New York, like ASAP".

She looked at me like a light bulb dinged over her head. "Oh this is about Grover isn't it?"

"Grover?" I asked in confusion.

"Yes, your pen-pal. He told me that you guys have been talking for a couple of months and made plans to meet up in New York during the summer. I wish you told me about this in advance so I could have gotten cheaper prices for travel. But boys will be boys" she sighed. "He told me about all the wonderful things you'd be up to at Camp Half-Blood".

"Wait, what? Oh right, yeah that's right!" I coolly agreed with my mother.

Mom looked at me suspiciously for a moment before shrugging her shoulders. "In any case, I guess I can hunt down a ticket for the next flight on Travelocity…"

"No!" I immediately shot her down. Between the way the sky was literally about to explode earlier and my personal feelings about airplanes, I wasn't having it. "Mom, you know how I feel about airplanes. They're flying metal death traps. I prefer my feet on terra firma thank you very much".

She rolled her eyes with a smile on her face. She knew she was yanking my chain. "I don't know what your problem is with planes, they have a much lower accident rate than cars do. But I guess I could always put you on a train" she jokingly replied.

I nodded my head energetically. "Good idea, let's roll with that".

"Alright, if you say so. It's a thirty-hour trip though. Wouldn't it be better to take the two and half hour plane ride?" I shot her my best death glare. "Alright, eighty-sixing the plane, got it. Just go pack your things sweetheart. I'll have everything arranged in an hour and we can hit the road okay?"

"Okay!" I rushed up the stairs in a hurry.

Emm Mmm, "Aren't you forgetting something?" She looked at me with a devilish smile.

I ran back down to her and gave her a hug, "thank you, you're the best mom in the world, Mom. Love you!" I quickly replied as I pecked her on the cheek and ran back upstairs.

Mom's eyes went wide as she smiled and looked up the stairs, "Wow, that's love right there".

* * *

It wasn't long before we were out on the road heading on the interstate for Orlando. I watched the pine trees, palms and magnolias as we whizzed by. My eyes growing a bit wide at the sight of the occasional monster stalking from the trees.

It took about an hour to pull into the train station in Orlando. It was a pretty busy place with the freight trains passing through, along with the tourist traffic heading down to Key West for the weekend. I grabbed my two carry-ons; carrying the bare essentials for light and speedy travel. A few changes of clothes, a map of the Eastern US, a couple of snacks and drinks to tide me over for the trip and the two journals and my knife-like shark tooth. Like I'm going to leave something like that lying around in my room for my mom to find while she cleans up the place, right.

"Alrighty well this looks like your train." We looked down Terminal 30 and saw the Amtrak train riding the Sunset Beltway. Supposedly this thing was supposed to ride from Orlando, through Savannah, Georgia, up through the Carolinas and then stop at the end of the line in Williamsburg, Virginia. I'd have a comfortable forty-five minutes to hop off the Sunset Beltway and board the Northeast Corridor train in the terminal next door. Then I'd ride through Washington D.C., Philadelphia and finally pop up in Penn Station in Manhattan, where a total stranger named Grover was going to pick me up and take me to Camp Half-Blood. Yeah, this was a great idea, nothing could possibly go wrong…

"Are you sure you don't want to take the plane" my mother asked for the millionth time with a smile on her face as she handed me my bags up onto the train. Though the sky was completely blue with not a cloud in sight, a crash of thunder exploded in the air above us after the suggestion.

I looked at her with an expression that radiated, 'Really? Are you **really** asking me that?'

"Alright sweetheart, in any case take care!" She yelled as the train started moving down the tracks.

I smiled and waved at her, "I promise to send you a postcard from New York!"

"Just call me. It's faster that way!"

My smile faded though when I looked at the end of the train. At first, I thought my eyes were playing with me so I rubbed them. But no, there was a silver pig running next to the tracks in the distance behind us.

No, it wasn't just a pig. This was Hogzilla! The silver thing was as tall as a train cabin and long as a pickup truck. Its hair was shaggy and dirty, but its fur had a silver shine like it was dusted in moonlight. It had a pair of monstrous tusks that it shoved from side to side as it ran. Its beady yellow eyes were focused right on me.

"Holy, what the, is that?!" I shouted and pointed at it.

Mom turned around. Her eyes bulged out as she jumped out of the way, before she got steamrolled by the hog. She got up and dusted herself off. Pissed off but unharmed at least. "Hey! Watch where you're going trucker!"

Truck? It's a giant… pig? I stared at it and it seemed to phase between being a silvery boar and speeding eighteen-wheeler rolling down next to the tracks. "Reet! Ree-nk Honk!" It seemed to switch between squealing like a pig and honking like a truck. I shook my head as I looked away from the pig. It was starting to give me a headache. "Come on" I quietly urged the train. "Go faster. Faster!"

As if it was listening, the train started picking up speed and charged down the tracks before dipping into a train tunnel. The pig stalled just before it crashed into the hole and gave a pissed off squeal before trotting off and fading away.

I pulled away from the back window, satisfied we left the giant pig back in the last county and sagged into my seat with a sigh. I looked in my lap and just noticed a book sitting there. I hesitantly picked it up and took a look at it. It was, what a surprise, another leather book, though this one was sea green. It had a bronze trident stamped on the front of it that shimmered in the light. Though when I opened it up, I realized that all the pages were blank.

I flipped open the cover and saw in tiny, cursive script, which gave me a headache just looking at it, a short message. It read, 'Have a Happy Fourteenth Alexander, and many more" signed Dad with a trident stamped next to it.

"Thanks" I tiredly replied. "Let's see if I make it to the next one at this rate."


	8. New York City, Then and Now

**Chapter 7: New York City, Then and Now**

I decided since I had over thirty hours to do nothing but sit around and contemplate my probable death or arrival to New York City, I would put my birthday present to good use. Let's see, what to start with? 'In the past two days, I have been almost eaten by a shark, gored by a boar, met a librarian who pulled a Houdini on me, and oh my dad spoke to me after fourteen years of being off the radar; in the form of droplets of rain on my window. Despite all this, I am not crazy… Right?' I wrote the last word uncertainly and put a big question mark next to it.

God what a mess. I threw my journal back in my bag and looked out the window. And look, it got even better. There were crazy men on horses riding across the field going as fast as the train. I squinted my eyes, no, scratch that. Those weren't guys riding the horses. Those were horses with the bodies of guys sticking out where the animal's' head should be. Next, I looked up at the sky and saw a flock of geese. No, double scratch, those are winged horses. What did they call it in the movie with Hercules; Pegasus? And then when we were zipping through the mountains, I saw the heads of really tall people sticking out from the trees. And did I forget to mention that they only had one eye?! And the best part? Nobody else seemed to notice any of this.

I looked away from the window. I thought if I saw one more strange thing, then I'd snap.

I turned to Beau's journal and sighed as I gave it another go…

"Mama had me packed up and ready to go in the middle of the night. She was decked in her white nightdress and glowed in the moonlight. I had on a dark suit that helped me blend into the blackness. She gave me a tight hug, 'I love you Honey' she whispered tensely. She pulled away to look me in the eye. 'I want you to send me a letter the moment you get up to New York, you hear me?'

'Yes Mam' I quietly replied with a nod.

She patted me on the back and then helped me into the coach with the rest of my things. After she closed the door, she walked up to the front and gestured for Malcolm, the hand who was coming with me, to lean in close. 'Now you listen. You make sure he gets there safe and sound you hear?'

'I hear you mam' the young negro guy replied solemnly. 'Believe you me, if I don't get him there in one piece, Lord Ares would have my soul for the rest of eternity'.

She knew what that would mean for Malcolm. She knew he would do everything possible to make sure he'd never earn the wrath of Lord Ares. She backed off as Malcolm cracked his whip and the horses broke into a steady gait, and walked off the estate.

* * *

It was a two week trip by coach to reach New York at a comfortable pace. We traveled from breakfast at eight o'clock to about noon each day, when we would have lunch and allow the horses time to water and get a break. Then we would press on until eight or nine at night, when we'd pull into town and lock the horses up in a stable, have them fed, given a blanket; while me and Malcolm shared a room at the inn.

The inn keep didn't even bat an eye when I asked for a single bed and room. He showed me the nicest room he had, after knowing that I came from a well to do family and had the money to show for it.

Once the man had left the two of us the room. I saw the bed and with a tired sigh, threw myself onto it with a plop and let myself sink into it. Malcolm stood there watching me, I looked up at him and patted the spare pillow next to mine. 'Well don't just stand there like a scarecrow Mal, you need to get some sleep too'.

He slowly went over to his side of the bed and lay his head down on the spare pillow. 'Thank you sir' he replied quietly.

'For what?' I tiredly replied as I tried to find a comfortable spot on the bed.

'Letting me sleep on the bed, even though there is only one'.

'Well sure, I mean where did you expect to sleep, on the floor?'

'Yes' he quietly replied as he settled in.

I turned over to look at him. 'Malcolm, my Mama always made sure you had a comfortable bed to sleep in, good clothes and a full belly right?' The negro nodded. 'If that's the way she treated you, then that's the way I'll treat you. Just because you got a different color skin, doesn't make you any less. Besides, of course you can sleep in the bed. Floor's damned uncomfortable, and it's not like color's catching anyway' I admitted before turning in.

Malcolm sighed contently before he closed his eyes, never actually falling asleep…

* * *

We had just made it to through Virginia en route to Washington D.C. when we ran into some trouble. I just didn't figure it at the time.

The coach slowly came to a stop. I opened the door and took a look outside and asked Malcolm, 'what's the matter, why have stopped? Have the horses gotten tuckered out?'

Malcolm shook his head no. In the middle of the road, a figure was laying across the way, preventing the coach from passing. It was a lady with a long flowing, black dress which covered her legs and arms from the harsh sun. And her head was covered by a black veil that made it impossible to see her face. She was hissing, as if in pain.

Like the Good Samaritan, I reached over to help her up. Only to be surprised when she leaped from the ground and practically pounced on me. She got up to her full height, her body swaying back and forth as she hissed, less like she was in pain and more like a snake.

She reached up with a gloved hand and threw aside the veil revealing a bald, scaly head. She had a pair of yellow eyes with black slits for pupils, a pair of tempting red lips, if it weren't for the forked tongue peeking through, tasting the air.

Her dress fell aside revealing not a pair of shapely legs, but the trunks of serpents. She bared her hands and sharp claws tore through the tips of her black satin gloves.

'Who? What manner of creature are you?' I asked in a disgusted voice.

The serpent lady hissed as she glared at me. 'Son of Aresss, I am Skythia, Queen of the Scythian Dracaenae'.

'Dragon lady' Malcolm replied in a deep, defensive voice. He held his arms out keeping me away from the creature.

"Ahh, one of Aresss' tortured pets' she hissed with delight. 'I would be pleasssed to toy with you, after I've had my fill of the boy'.

'What? Go back to whatever hell hole you slithered out of you shrew' I demanded to little effect.

The creature glared at me before it lunged toward me. Malcolm moved forward and pushed me back. I watched as the young man underwent a most frightening transformation. His simple cotton clothes turned red and heavy, fashioned with golden buttons like a uniform of a man from the War of 1812 worn by British soldiers. The uniform was peppered with holes and scorch marks.

Next, his skin grew pale and ashy grey and tight as it lost its lively shine. His face grew tight and his smile thin and stretched. His caramel eyes shriveled away till they turned into a pair of bottomless black pits. Malcolm resembled something from beyond the grave, and even though I didn't believe in the Good Book, I made a cross in front of me.

He smiled at me, trying to reassure me, although it only served to unnerve me more. He reached into his holster and pulled out a ball firing musket. The serpent lady hissed with laughter. 'You wouldn't hit a harmless lady with that mortal toy would you?'

'Yes' he clicked the safety off. 'But who said it was meant for mortals?' He squeezed the trigger and fired off the single ball. At point blank range it was next to impossible to miss. Skythia smiled at the attempt before she stopped and sniffed at the air, something was burning. She looked down at her chest, where the musket ball was lodged in and the skin all around it was cracking and burning. 'Ahh!' the lady hissed as she feebly scratched at the ball, but she could not touch it without burning her fingers. It wasn't long before she fell to the ground and collapsed in a puff of golden powder; just as the rooster had.

I walked forward and grabbed the ball. I rolled it around in my hand and noticed something peculiar. 'What sort of metal is this? It isn't iron or lead'.

Malcolm nodded, 'Bronze. Celestial Bronze of the Ancients, melted down and forged into a musket ball. Mere iron would never have stopped such a creature. Only metal blessed by the Gods would do. Now come sir, we must make haste. The Scythian Dracaenae, twasn't likely alone'.

Normally I would have taken offense to being forced anywhere without my say so. But I also knew I was way out of my league. I just watched something along the likes of Lilith get slain by my undead companion... Way out of my league.

I quickly retreated into the coach and we were back on the road making record time.

* * *

We actually made it to New Jersey a day ahead of time. But that seemed to be just as well. I was tempted to take the ferry over to Manhattan, just to say that I'd been there. But Malcolm opposed, saying it was too much of a risk. It was hard to argue with him when he glared at me with the face of death.

He did tell me about it though as we rode the ferry over to Long Island. He had been stationed there during the War of 1812 when the British attacked. Crowded as all heck he said, people bumping and smashing into each other every which way. Pickpockets left and right, waiting on the side for any clueless gent walking down the way. Horse-drawn carriages clattered down the cobblestone streets, while folks rode on the omnibuses from one end of the island to the other looking for work where they could.

The City was a cesspool of violence and tension just ready to explode. People were arriving by the boatload everyday from Germany and Ireland, seeking work to make a living and find a home of their own. The newcomers fought for scraps against the Negroes who barely eked out a living. I could imagine quite a few of those people had arrived fleeing from the South with little but the clothes on their backs. I heard horror stories of how some Masters treat their 'property'". Alex noted that the word was written so harshly that the pencil almost cut through the paper. It seemed to have been written with a touch of anger.

It seemed like a hopeless situation, refuse in the streets, man fighting man over barely anything, while the merchants and the well to do watched with amusement. It sickened me just thinking about it.

I changed my mind, New York can rot…'

* * *

I closed the journal with a tired sigh. Reading about how it was back then made the trip into the City a bit depressing. I tried to shake off the feeling though as the train ducked into another tunnel. Charging along for a few minutes with no delays, I was soon blinded by the light as we popped out into the urban sprawl that was Manhattan.

Unlike in Beau's day, the buildings were silver and glass and shining in the sun; towering high up into the sky. Cars had replaced the carriages as people honked at each other excessively. People braved the streets, walking in giant swarms from one corner to the next. Millions of people… How the heck was I going to find one kid in all of this?


	9. A Blessing of the Wild Not!

**Chapter 8: A Blessing of the Wild… Not!**

The train finally came to a stop in Penn Station. I grabbed my two carry ons and then walked off following everybody else out the doors. I paused once I got onto the tile floor and scoped around. I had a feeling that I'd recognize the total stranger who was coming to pick me up and whisk me away to some camp with kids from the monster witness protection program. My eyes locked on a guy standing on crutches. He had curly brown hair, a red rasta style hat hanging on his head on a tilt and in his hands he had a sign with the name 'Alexander Conecke' written in bold white bubble letters on a black background, with the words 'Camp Half-Blood' under it. Sure, why not? Looks like my guy, seemed harmless enough.

I walked up to him. He was so focused on the people disembarking from the train he didn't even notice me. "Grover, right?"

"Blaah" he jumped a foot in the air, expertly landing on his crutches without crumpling in on himself; although he did drop his sign. I reached down and picked it up for him and he took it from me. He looked at me with an appraising eye, "Alex Conecke?"

"The one and only" I took a bow with a cheesy smile.

He nodded with a reserved smile on his face. "Grover here, Grover Underwood. I'm here to escort you topside to our ride back to camp. Thanks for meeting me here. It would have been a trip to get down to Florida myself on short notice".

"No prob, I'd rather be here than shark bait, or run through by a giant pig".

Grover looked at me with wide eyes, his lower lip started quivering as he replied, "Shark? Pig!? Uhm you might want to start telling me the details on the way up to the van".

And so while we walked through the terminals, past the concession stands and riding the elevators to get up to the ground floor, I told him everything. The shark thing got him to start shaking from fright; but he was happy to hear about the dolphins. Then I told him about how I managed to catch the train to get up to New York. "Thanks by the way for calling my mom earlier. If you didn't she probably wouldn't have let me go. What story did you even sell to her anyway?"

"Oh" Grover replied off-handedly. "I just told her that we met up through a friend of a friend. That we were pen pals for a while and that we planned on meeting up here so I could show you around the place. Then I told her about Camp Half-Blood and that we'd do archery, Capture the Flag, canoe racing, fun stuff like that. Standard cover story for ignorant mortals".

"Do they actually do stuff like that there?" I asked, actually pretty excited by the lie.

"And more" Grover smiled as he hobbled along on his crutches.

We walked up to a white van parked on the side of the road with a sign about a strawberry farm painted on the outside. "Why strawberries?"

Grover smiled as he opened the door and held it open for me. "It's the ruse the Camp operates behind. We actually do grow strawberries. Mr. D, the old camp counselor, had a way with vines, so we have a ton more to harvest than we could possibly eat. So every now and again, we drive into town dropping off fresh strawberries for restaurants in town and picking up new campers to take back with us on the return trip".

"Cool" I replied as I sat down in the old seat that squeaked under me. I jumped up and down in the seat to make it keep squeaking causing the driver to stare at me with stern glare. I stopped immediately and took him in. He had a chauffeur's hat on, covering most of his short blonde hair, it was pushed forwards so I could barely see his blue eyes. He wore leather gloves on his hands and a set of long sleeve shirt and pants and sneakers. Once I stopped fidgeting, he raised his head up, letting his hat slip back and then I stared at his forehead. He had a third eye staring at me which blinked along with the other two. "Whah ha hah!" I backed into the door, attempting to get away from the driver.

"Oh" Grover replied to my shock, "sorry about that, should have let you know. This is Argus, Chief of Security back at Camp, and when necessary, our chauffeur. He has quite a few extra eyes on him, so he can always be on the lookout for any trouble. Don't worry though, he's perfectly nice".

"Nice" I repeated as Argus nodded in response before moving to put the van into drive. "If you say so". Grover was about to ask me something when something called out behind us, 'Reet! Hooonk!' "Oh no, it can't be" I cringed as I slowly peeked out the window. Sure enough, Ms. Piggy was back, and on a rampage down 7th Avenue heading straight for us. "What the heck, I thought I left that thing back in Orange County".

Grover looked out the window and bleated at the sight, "Well I'll be, it's a blessing of the Wild!"

"For who? That thing tried to kill me in Florida! What is it?"

"The Calydonian Boar" he whispered in reverence. "It's been ages since that thing's been up and about. Hasn't been around since the old days, when it was killed in a hunting competition, the poor thing. It seems a bit upset, maybe we can calm it down" Grover looked at it; as if it were a crying, harmless baby.

"Uh huh, you do that. Argus, put the pedal to the metal!" Argus nodded in complete agreement and bolted out of there, tearing rubber as we threw ourselves into New York traffic.

* * *

It wasn't easy. Argus had nerves of steel and the reflexes of a drag racer, but there was only so much he could do in the urban traffic without hitting someone. The boar, on the other hand, didn't have any problems with knocking cars out of its way and barreling down the street like an eighteen wheeler going down the interstate.

With a particularly hard turn, it took all we had to keep our butts stuck to our seats. I looked back and watched as Grover's hat went flying off; while his hands were busy bracing himself. I looked up in his hair and realized, "You have horns?"

Grover reached down and replaced his hat, although the damage was already done. "Ehh sorry about that. Satyr here, didn't mean to surprise you with that".

"At this point, I'm not surprised about anything, anymore" I groaned as I bumped my forehead into the headrest. Then I felt a jolt and then I looked out the back window and saw the boar scraping the bumper with the tips of its tusks. I could see the yellow of its beady, squinting eyes and it looked as if its grey fur was shedding moondust as it ran after us.

I turned to Argus and begged him, "Can you squeeze a bit more juice out of this thing? I know it's not a Maserati but come on Argus!"

Argus' forehead was dripping with sweat, his eyes were wide and his fingers were bone white from squeezing the wheel so tightly. Finally we saw a bridge, we took it and then slammed onto the Beltway, leaving most of the traffic behind.

Argus floored the gas and managed to get an extra kick out of the motor. Just enough to keep out of reach of the giant pig's tusks.

"That as much as it goes?" I asked sadly and Argus nodded tightly as he kept his focus on the road, going twenty miles over the speed limit.

"It's fine" Grover replied, though his voice sounded anything but fine. "We just have to get to Camp, the others will help us". He reached into his bag and pulled out a tin can. He crushed it anxiously and then brought it to his mouth and chewed it and then swallowed it. He looked at me sheepishly. I'm pretty sure my eyebrow was up and my jaw was hanging. "Sorry, nervous habit, I'm trying to cut back on soda cans, bad for the tummy".

"I can imagine" I shook my head as I focused back on the boar.

* * *

After driving for five minutes, although it felt more like an hour, we were on a part of the highway with trees on both sides. It looked like we were in the middle of nowhere. "We're close" Grover insisted as he started rummaging in his bag.

"How close?" I asked just as the boar jumped forward, jabbing one of its tusks into one of the back wheels. It instantly exploded into a mess of rubber and a shower of sparks as the van spun out of control. Only with the expert hand of Argus at the wheel, were we able to keep from flipping over.

When the van skidded to a stop, Grover got out a set of panpipes and blew into the shortest one and let rip an ear piercing whistle. It made even Ms. Piggy stop for a second. "Close enough I hope" Grover replied solemnly.

I heard voices coming from behind the hill covered with trees. A couple of boys and girls with bronze armor and red helmets came charging out shouting. When they saw the boar snort at them, they hesitated for a moment before they came down screaming even louder.

The Calydonian Boar rutted the ground with one of its front hooves before it squealed and charged right for the sorry bunch.

They were an interesting fighting force, one had a sword, another had a spear, a whip, a knife. But regardless, the pig failed to die. It easily avoided all their strikes and charged for them, trying to crush them all underfoot.

I couldn't just sit back while they got creamed by something I lead here. I reached for the door and then bolted out, "Alex!" Grover called out and tried to grab me, but I was already running up the hill by then.

I got to the top, assessing the situation. The girl with the whip was distracting the boar by flicking it in the face, but that only seemed to tick it off. Anytime one of the others would try to come close, the boar would kick off with its back legs and send the sorry kids flying.

A guy came up next to me holding a pair of swords. "Hey, what are you doing? Are you trying to get killed newbie!"

"I just wanted to help" I replied.

"Well you can help by keeping out of the waaaay!" And the guy went flying as the boar stuck its snout under the guy's butt and then flipped him over its back and onto the ground. It stared at me bitterly as it snorted and rutted the ground readying to charge.

I eyed the sword the guy dropped when he went flying. I never used one before, but a sword is better than nothing right? I raised the bronze blade up and looked at it shining in the light. I felt full of energy and power as I spun the hilt in my hand. "You want to dance big girl?"

"Reeet!" And then it charged for me, blinded with red rage. I swung hard, hoping for a hit. And then I hit something hard and then heard it clatter on the ground. The boar was staring at me dumbly, missing one of its tusks. It snorted in anger as squealed and then stopped. I heard a swish from behind the pig along with a plonk. The boar turned around and sticking out of its butt was a golden arrow and from the wound, drops of golden blood fell and splattered the ground.

A little girl, couldn't have have been older than eight stood in the distance. She was shaking from fright, it was a miracle that her arrow flew true. She reached back to her quiver, only to find that she didn't have any more arrows. She looked at me with eyes wide open like an owl's.

The Boar's attention was completely fixed on the little girl. I rushed for it and hopped onto its back. It bounced in place from surprise before it tried bucking me off. If you ever tried riding a pig holding on with one hand, I'll tell you it's not easy. Finally I raised my blade and brought it down and lobbed its head right off. It exploded in a puff of gold and silver dust that blew away with the wind.

* * *

I stood there, exhausted as the sword slipped from my hand and clattered onto the floor. All at once everyone cheered as they gathered around me. The kids wearing the bronze armor and red helmets were especially welcoming, thumping me hard on the back and smiling as they fist bumped with me and punched me friendly enough in the shoulder. I went back over to where the tusk lay on the ground and picked it up. Everyone cheered even louder.

Then I went over to the little girl who stood off to the side. And then I held out the tusk and gave it to her. She looked at it as if she couldn't believe I gave it to her.

"Dude!" The guy who dropped his sword complained. "Why did you give her the tusk? It's obviously your trophy".

I shrugged my shoulders, "I might have cut it off, but I doubt the pig would have let me get close enough to strike it down and get rid of it. If she didn't hit it with her arrow and distracted it, it probably would be still kicking and screaming right now. Besides, she landed the first hit that made it bleed. It should be hers".

Kids who looked like the little girl's older brothers and sisters came running over the hill, nodding their heads as they caught the tail end off my speech.

The guy snorted as he walked next to me. He reached down and picked up the sword and then replied, "whatever man. Ares cabin move out!" All the tough looking kids followed him and on the way back over the hill, he knocked into the little girl, making her fall on her butt. "Sorry" he replied in a fake voice, the other burly kids chuckled as they followed him.

I went over to her. Her eyes were getting a bit watery as she sat there on the ground. I held out my hand and she looked at it uncertainly. "Here". She took my hand and I helped her up onto her feet. "I'm sorry about that, don't let them get to you. They look like a bunch of pricks".

She dusted herself off, she held onto the tusk like a lifeline. "It's okay, they're the Ares cabin. They're always like that. I'm Shayla, what's your name?"

"Nice to meet you, Alex."

"Well Alex come on then, you'd better come in. Everyone'll be excited to meet the guy who took down the Calymody Pig".

"Calymodian Boar I think you mean, and thanks Shayla". She took my hand as she led me in through the gates and down the hill into Camp.


	10. The Kleptos of Hermes Cabin

**Chapter 9: The Kleptos of Hermes Cabin**

Upon walking through the boundary of camp, I was swarmed by a bunch of happy new faces. So many names, I don't think I could have kept them all straight, but I think everyone understood. The kids from Ares Cabin had already filtered back into camp somewhere.

Two guys walked out from the crowd and each took one of my hands and shook it with a smile on their faces. They looked almost like a mirror set, although one might have been a bit taller and one had greener eyes while the other had more hazel.

The guy on the left spoke first "Connor".

The guy on the right then added "Travis".

And then together replied "Stoll Brothers" as they pulled away, each with stuff in their free hand. Connor had a brown wallet with a palm tree on it. While Travis had a belt dangling from his hand.

I slowly put two and two together when my pants started sagging down. I barely caught the hem of my pants. My blue briefs were almost on display for all of camp to to see. "Hey, my stuff!"

They cracked up as they socked each other in the shoulder and fell over laughing. "Sorry, not sorry" Connor replied.

"Couldn't resist man. But don't feel bad, you aren't the only one we've done that to" Travis added as he wiped the tears of laughter from his eyes.

I looked around and most of the other campers were looking away, at the ground, with blushing faces. "Right, let's hit the grand tour" Connor insisted after giving me my wallet and I laced my belt back into my jeans.

* * *

All in all, camp was pretty cool. At least I wouldn't be bored while I stayed for an undetermined time. There was an archery range, where kids could practice hitting targets at their own risk. A rock climbing wall loomed in the middle of camp. I might have gone for it if it wasn't shaking so much and bubbling with lava. We walked by the stables where the horses were relaxing. Although they were actually pegasi, so I could go cantering about in the three dimensions and not just in two. The Long Island Sound formed the northern border of camp and kids were riding on sea kayaks with the calm waves. I sighed a bit disappointed. I was hoping for a bit more wave action, the surfing here didn't look choice.

Finally, we made it to the center green, where a bunch of cabins were standing. Most of them had at least a few kids hanging around them, although a few were eerily quiet. I didn't ask about them and the Stoll Brothers didn't feel the need to tell me about them. We walked up to the biggest and crowded of all the cabins. It was a log cabin with a giant banner hanging over the front door with a pair of snakes coiled around a staff. Connor gestured me to come on in as I took in the place. There were about twenty kids inside, space was at a premium, with most of it being taken up by the twelve bunk beds.

I noticed that most of the kids had similar traits to the Stoll Brothers: twinkling, mischievous eyes, upturned smirks whenever they smiled, slim figures and nimble fingers; they looked like the sort of kids I wouldn't leave an unattended bike around; even if it was double locked. "Well our house is your house. Hermes Cabin, give our visitor a nice welcome!"

"Heyo!" everyone shouted, I thought the walls were shaking while my ears were ringing.

"Sorry it's a bit crowded, all the kids who don't know who their godly parent is come here to spend their first few days. Although, between you and me, this is the emptiest I've seen Hermes Cabin in a while. Ever since the gods started claiming their kids on a regular basis, we've had a bit more wiggle room by kicking out, I mean sending campers on their merry way to their new cabins" Travis sheepishly replied as he awkwardly rubbed his neck.

"Right" I drawled out as I scoped out one of the top bunks. I figured I could keep my stuff at the foot of the bed and out of easy reach from the Hermes kids.

"Feel free to take a load off, explore, have fun. Just make sure you lock up your stuff before you go" Connor added while all the kids looked at my bags with smiles on their faces. I had a horrible feeling my underwear was going to be strung up on the flagpole come tomorrow morning.

* * *

I decided to take Connor up on his advice, all of it. My stuff was padlocked, courtesy of a visiting camper from Hephaestus Cabin. Guaranteed to deter even the most persistent of thieves, by shocking them if they even went near it.

I walked out of the cabin and saw little Shayla, shyly waiting outside scuffing her shoe in the dirt. "Hi there, how you doing?"

Shayla smiled as she looked up at me, I could see that she was missing a few of her teeth. "Hi Alex, just checking to see whatcha up to. My older siblings are all busy right now and I was wondering if I could tag along with you?" She looked at me with puppy dog eyes, begging me to let her come with me.

I shrugged my shoulder with a smile, "sure why not? I was just going to take a look around".

"Yay! Thanks" she reached out and grabbed my hand and we went walking down the path through camp.

"So" I asked as we passed by the camp counselors and satyrs playing volleyball out on the sand court. "You don't bunk in Hermes Cabin, which one are you in?"

Shayla pointed out across the green at a golden cabin with a sun fixed over the door. "That one, over there. That's the Apollo Cabin".

"Are all the cabins named after gods?"

"And goddesses too. Whenever a camper gets claimed, they get to live in the cabin of their parent with their other siblings".

"So, that means everyone here has a parent who's a god?"

"Mmm Hmm, that's right".

"Who's your parent then?"

"Apollo" her head bowed a little at mention of his name. "He's the god of the sun, arts, poetry, archery, healing, plagues a lot of cool things actually. But it's been a bit weird the past few weeks. Dad visited camp a few weeks back and stayed around".

"But that's normal, right? The gods come and check on their kids from time to time".

"Not really" Shayla snorted in annoyance. "They believe the best parenting is off hand. They don't want to mess with us or our fates. So, they try to leave us alone as much as they can".

"That's horrible" but then it wasn't much of my surprise. I only met my Dad once in my life. So, it clearly looked like he was a follower of this non-intervening parenting bent.

"Yes, but Apollo did come to camp, actually it was really weird, because he wasn't a god anymore. You see…" And she explained how her dad got punished by Zeus and got stripped of his immortality and most of his power and had to go around the world saving the Oracles or otherwise Fate would crumble under the weight of the evil monster Python. "And now he's a kid, he doesn't even look older than my oldest brother Will but meh". She kicked a rock as she stewed in her thoughts.

"So, where does a guy go to break a sweat? I got all this nervous energy from fighting Ms. Piggy and I got to get it out" I smiled as I tried to distract her.

Shayla pointed at the arena, "over there the big kids go over to spar and practice weapons on dummies".

I nodded, "sure, why not, sounds like fun".


	11. I Slash and Bash with the Best

**Chapter 10: I Slash and Bash with the Best**

We walked into the arena and immediately Shayla latched onto my wrist and began pulling me back. However, I decided to keep going and took a look around. It looked like the Coliseum back in Rome, except the marble was a gleaming white and all the doorways and benches were still intact. There were five rows of seats up in the stands and then a set of wooden benches that framed the middle of the space like a giant square.

On one of the benches, a bunch of rowdy kids were loudly cheering, while a girl stood in the middle with a sword in her hand. She leapt from dummy to dummy breaking each one down with a new move. One she ran right through with her sword and snapped the center beam. Another she whacked at its legs with a quick swipe, causing it crash forward. And a third, she raised her sword arm high and then brought the edge right down on the scarecrow's head, splitting it right in the middle, all the way to the ground.

She looked pretty full of herself as put her sword back in its scabbard. "Hardly seems fair" I exclaimed with a grin, "they're just dummies".

Her shoulders went up tensely. Her cabin mates went quiet.

"Ehh I would fight a volunteer, but no one's taken me on my offer" she replied over her shoulder, paying about as much attention to me as a bug.

"Hmm, I wonder why? I'll have a go".

"Ohh ho hoo you wouldn't last a minute" she began to say as she turned around to face me. "Oh, new guy? Heard about how you took down that pig. Not too shabby to be honest". She smiled as she crossed her arms.

"Alex here, who're you?"

"Hmm" the girl smiled at me and shook her head as if I just said something stupid. "Who am I? Name's Roxanne, my friends call me Roxy. I'm the best at weapons in the whole camp!" She boasted proudly.

"Except with a bow and arrow, Roxy couldn't hit the broadside of a barn even if her life depended on it" one of her brothers quietly joked.

"Can it Maxwell!" She spat at him as she drew her sword out and spun it in the air with a flash. "Well, you still want to have a go Alex?"

"Sure, you got a spare on you".

Shayla pulled me back for a moment before she harshly whispered. "Are you crazy? That's Roxanne! She'll cream you. She's put three campers in the infirmary this week. I know, I treated them! There's a reason no one wants to spar with her".

"Ehh don't worry, I'm sure Roxy'll go easy on a newbie like me". She smiled like a tiger ready to pounce on an unsuspecting meal.

"Sure" she took a sheathed sword from Maxwell and then tossed it over to me and kicked over a bronze shield.

"It's been nice knowing you Alex" Shayla replied miserably as she backed off and sat down, up in the stands.

I slipped my forearm into the buckler and then hefted it. It didn't feel too heavy, the weight of a dictionary. I just hoped it could hold up to abuse. Then I grabbed my sword and pulled it from the leather scabbard and tossed that aside. I lifted the sword and balanced the weight on my lower arm, away from the wrist to reduce the strain. I twirled the hilt, giving the blade a once over, but it looked polished and without a scratch.

Roxanne stared at me across the field appraising me, "you practice with a sword often?"

I shook my head, "never lifted one until today".

She nodded her head with a suspicious look in her eyes. "Could have fooled me". She raised her sword arm and then rushed for me quick across the field. A scare tactic. I held my stance wide and raised my sword and met her strike. She stared at me with a smirk on her face. "I'll give you points for not turning tail and running off. But like I said, you won't last long".

She raised her shield and slammed into me; trying to knock me off my center. Then she spun around me and jabbed at my right and then my left. She moved like a ninja, trying to find a weak spot and knock me off balance. The fight felt like a wave on a storm day. I was buffeted in every direction, but as long as I could keep my weight centered over my waist, I could weather anything and keep my balance.

Her stabs were getting faster, more erratic and her face was turning red. "You've got great defense, I'll give you that, but you can't win a fight without fighting back!" She raised her blade with two hands on the hilt and made ready to cleave me in half.

Most people would have backed off to let her strike the air from a safe distance Instead, I chose to go in close, like tucking into the curl of a fast moving wake. One misstep and I'd mess up majorly, but time it right and it's a sweet spot. Her blade swung behind me, leaving her body wide open to attack.

I brought the flat of my sword down on her outstretched arm, on her wrist and she gasped as her blade clattered on the floor. I took advantage of her shock to tackle into her shield arm, making her lose her grip and let it slip onto the floor.

I brought the tip of my sword up to her throat and held it there. I looked around, Shayla stared at me shivering, her little blue eye peeking through her fingers. The Ares kids looked at us across the field in shock. Roxy looked cross-eyed down at her throat and sighed as she held her hands apart in surrender. "Well then, good match" she conceded as her arms dropped and her shoulders sagged.

* * *

"Ehh beginner's luck" one of the Ares kids remarked. "He wormed right under your defenses Roxy. You left yourself wide open. Any idiot could have taken that opportunity".

"Probably lucky" I readily agreed with him. "I don't do this kind of thing every day. Wrestling though, that I've done a bit off".

"Really?" Maxwell fired back as he got up from the bench and tapped Roxy on her shoulder. She promptly went down to have a seat. She looked at me with a bit of worry in her eyes. "Why don't you show me some moves, pretty boy" he teased me as he stepped into the ring and tossed aside his sword and chest plate.

I shrugged my shoulders as I put my sword on the ground and then pulled off my shirt. I looked at him from across the ring in the ground. The guy was a bit shorter than me, but he also had a deep tan, meaning he spent most of his time outside. But he must have had twenty pounds of extra muscle on him. His shoulders were wide and his arms bulged as he held them up. He almost looked top heavy, but his legs were set at shoulder width apart in a comfortable stance.

I stood in the same position and then gestured with my hand, 'come at me'.

Maxwell barreled forward with more speed than I thought possible and then slammed into me like a wave from behind. My knees buckled a bit as I slid a few inches back, but I held my ground.

With the element of surprise from his burst of speed gone, he started using his most obvious asset, his strength. He put his weight into me and he groaned as he slowly forced me lower with his hands on my shoulders and pushing off with his knee.

Realizing I would never be able to outmuscle him, I dropped to the ground in a feint. Maxwell's eyes went wide when his bulk suddenly collapsed forward to the ground. I allowed his momentum to roll us, leaving him pinned under me, with his back to the floor.

He snorted from annoyance as he managed to grapple a leg around my waist and he reached out with one hand to grab my forearm. He tried using his strength to force me off of him and pin me to the ground. But then I brought my other hand up, fitting it on the bottom of his back and then pushed down on it while allowing his other arm to fall to the ground. He flipped next to me, from laying on his back, to slamming down onto his front. His head hit the ground and got a mouthful of dirt.

I shook off the strain and then jumped up onto his back while he struggled to get back onto his knees. I brought one hand under his arm and the other over his shoulder and locked them together. If Maxwell wasn't spitting out dirt, he could have easily gotten up, fallen backward onto me and pile drive me to the ground. Or he could have reached behind him and threw me over his back and out of the ring. But at this point he was still trying to get up and clear his head.

I didn't give him the chance. I lifted his chest off the ground, straining his back and giving it a crack like a chiropractor and then slammed it down. I repeated to pick him up and drop him, slamming his torso into the dirt. The Ares kids sat there like bobbleheads, watching as Maxwell went up and down.

Finally, after I thought he was completely out of it, I went down on one knee next to him, slipped a shoulder under Maxwell and slowly hefted him up. I started growling as Max began to flail his arms and legs, making the difficult move even harder. I roared as I crunched my stomach, bowed forward and sent the guy flying through the air, over the ring and crashing down with a thud. I panted as I wiped off the sweat from my forehead, clapped my hands together, dusted off my pants and then pumped my fist up into the air. "Alright then! Who's next?"

Roxanne watched wide eyed as she clapped in a daze. The rest of the rowdy bunch started hooting and hollering as they broke out into cheer.

Shayla watched in the stands from a safe distance, along with a couple of her brothers and sisters just coming back from archery with Chiron.

"Wow he just beat the crap out of him!" Shayla gasped in astonishment. "He's awesome".

A guy with cornrows in his hair gazed out at me with a frown on his face, "he's an Ares kid, no doubt about it. You saw how intense he was, like a beast" he grumbled.

"But he's nice at least" Shayla rhymed as she defended me.

"Nice" Austin looked a bit uncertain. "Not the word I would have used. Terrifying, insane sure. Nice? Ehh…"

Chiron didn't listen to the campers argue though. He was busy watching me from across the arena. He looked confused as he stared at me, like he recognized me, but he never met me before. "In any case, we should all get to the camp fire. It will soon be time for the sing along, and I believe your cabin is taking the lead tonight". He continued staring at me as the Ares cabin hoisted me on their shoulders and took me away with them.


	12. Campfire Fun

**Chapter 11: Campfire Fun**

As the Ares kids carried me off on their shoulders, I noticed that all the campers were heading for the common green. A mighty fire blazed in the center glowing gold and red. A little girl in a brown dress quietly tended the blaze while everyone sat down on the wooden benches picking up sticks and bags of marshmallows, chocolate bars, graham crackers and hot dogs.

The Ares kids plopped me down like a sack of potatoes right in the middle of them. One guy had his arm around my shoulder, while the girl next to me had her hand on my arm. They were all talking about all the fun we were all going to get into and creaming the other cabins at Capture the Flag. Roxy sat at one end of the crowd giving me an embarrassed smile while all her cabin mates showered me with hero worship. And at the other end of the bench Maxwell stared at me with a simmering anger before he broke our connection and he bitterly glared into the fire. His face looked savage with the black and purple bruises blossoming under his golden skin.

I looked around at everyone. All the cabins seemed to be in attendance, each huddled together in their own little cliques. The Ares kids gave me a running commentary of everybody. Sitting next to us were the Hephaestus campers. I could recognize them by their large, bulky bodies. Not very defined, but strong looking from lifting heavy weights. Some of them were twiddling their fingers, working tiny gears and bolts together, making tiny automatons which walked up to the fire to roast wieners for their owners.

Next to them were the Aphrodite kids. They looked frail like they'd fall apart in the first minute of a fight. But at least they were impeccably dressed. The Ares cabin considered them a waste of space, but a pretty waste of space. They were headed temporarily by a girl named Drew Tanaka while their head counselor was visiting another camp. Drew basically had her cabin mates waiting on her hand and foot. The guys had fans in their hands which they used to keep her cool while she sat by the fire. While the girls sat next to her feeding her peeled grapes and fakely complimenting her on her looks. A blonde haired boy was helping the girls by calling up vines from the ground and making grapes . I figured if she wanted to cool down, I don't know why she didn't get off her butt and move away from the fire. And she had two arms and legs, couldn't she get her own food?

Past them Athena Cabin sat calmly talking with one another as they gazed into the fire. They had drawings of schematics and platoon movements and they were critiquing one another of the merits and failings of each one. They seemed so orderly and calm compared to Ares cabin, I couldn't believe that both of their parents were gods of war. They were like night and day.

Speaking of which, Apollo Cabin sat across from us. Shayla gave a smile and a shy wave when I caught her eye. I returned a smile to her. They were an interesting bunch. Some of them had music sheets and flutes, guitars and drums and harps next to them. Others seemed to be mashing leaves and flowers into pastes and dust before packing them away into paper packets.

The kids next to them were passing them whole plants that they were calling out of the ground. They were the Demeter Cabin headed by Katie Gardner. She had a cold shoulder and turned away from the Stoll Brothers.

Travis looked exasperated as he tried to have a conversation with Katie, who completely ignored him, while Connor tried to comfort him by giving him a roasted weenie. The rest of Hermes cabin was sitting there giggling together, probably talking about all the tricks and schemes they had pulled and gotten away with.

There were other groups of kids there too, from minor gods and goddesses. The kids of Hebe had this timeless look to them that made them seem eternally youthful, it was hard to tell who was older or younger. Apparently one of them had their arms and legs lopped off in a camp game. I couldn't tell which, the Apollo Cabin must have done a great job. Just the same, I'd prefer to keep my limbs intact thank you…

A couple of kids were dozing off despite all of the noise, the children of Hypno could sleep through the end of the world (and they almost managed too). The children of Hecate were spending the time, bending the air around them, twisting the Mist into the shapes of animals and flowers before snapping their fingers and everything vanished at once, only to be replaced by something new.

Some of the benches were empty though. The kids of Hades weren't here as they were on the other side of the country, helping to erect new temples for minor deities along with Jason, a son of Jupiter or Zeus… Ehh I haven't quite gotten the whole Greek/Roman Gods split thing. Did that mean they were different gods, or were the Greek and Roman forms the same person? Roxy told me not to worry about it. Campers who had been here far longer than me were still teasing out the details and still haven't figured out a good answer.

Soon enough Apollo cabin started playing instruments and starting a round, using a bunch of interesting parodies of normal campfire songs. Everybody was cheering and laughing as they sang along.

In the middle of the fun, I got up from my seat. I had saved one of my hot dogs, dressed it in relish, mustard and ketchup and walked over to the fire. I was told that it honors the gods if we give them a piece of our meals. Well I stared into the flames and prayed for a sign. Dad, if you're out there listening to me, send me a sign, please… I tipped my plate and the dog rolled into the flames and burnt up at once. I was instantly washed in the smell of all of my favorite things, including my hot dog.

I looked up at the sky with wonder, is that what the gods smell coming from the fire? Yum.

* * *

I headed back to my seat as Chiron got up and took center stage by the hearth. I looked at him, his tail seemed to swish side to side on its own. I wonder if he was even aware what his horse-end was doing while he stood there?

"Well we have certainly had an eventful day. Everyone, we have a new face among us, I'm pleased to introduce Alex, he's come to us from Florida".

"Hey" I waved my hand and sheepishly drew away from everyone's attention focused on me as I sank into the Ares campers.

"Alex appears to be a rather exceptional camper" Chiron added.

"That's putting it mildly Chiron" Roxy interrupted. "He beat me in sword combat and managed to toss Maxwell out of the ring". Everyone stared at me with disbelief.

Even Chiron nodded his head, "yes it was quite a show to see. And to top it all, he managed to bring down the Calydonian Boar".

"Exactly!" Roxy complained as she glared across the flames at Apollo cabin. "HE brought it down, HE should be the one to keep the tusk".

Austin from Apollo Cabin rolled his eyes and sighed, "are you still sore about that? When are you going to get over it? Alex ceded the trophy over to Shayla. Besides, even if he hadn't we claim first blood. She wounded its body with her arrow before he struck it down. She deserves it".

Chiron looked ashen as he looked between Ares and Apollo cabin, "Oh, this is shaping up like Meleager all over again."

"He's new, Alex didn't know what he was doing. He needs us there to stand up for him and let him know when he deserves something. He's a child of Ares and that means it's our cabin's trophy. Now fork that tusk over sun boy! Roxy demanded.

A girl chuckled grimly with tight eyes, Kayla I think her name was "ah that's what this is really about, you just want bragging rights by claiming the tusk for yourselves. And how do you know he's even a son of Ares? Has he been claimed yet?!" she demanded to know.

"Don't need to be, the guy has to be, he's got that fire in him. You saw it!" Roxanne growled as if me being called not a kid of Ares was an insult to her and the rest of her cabin.

The fire began to smolder and turn a dull red and shrink. At first, I thought it was going to come to blows when the fire began to glow a dull blue-green. Next, I realized everything and everyone was glowing like it was underwater. Then everyone turned to look at me and above my head. The Ares campers followed everyone's eyes and then they turned a sickly green, as if they had swallowed a pill. They backed away from me as if I had a disease and groaned from annoyance. "You gotta be kidding me" Roxanne bitterly sighed. "I lost to a guy like you?"

Maxwell had an eyebrow up as he looked at me, "surprise twist" he mumbled to himself.

Chiron bowed as I looked up and saw a spinning bronze trident floating over my head glowing in green light. "All hail Alexander Conecke, Son of the Lord of the Seas, Horses, the Earthshaker: Poseidon".


	13. Daddy Issues

**Chapter 12: Daddy Issues**

"Well here it is, your new cabin" Shayla cheerily announced as she pulled the heavy driftwood door open and held it open for me. I walked inside and took a look around. I could feel a breeze coming in through the windows out back. It carried a hint of the sea, a saltiness that I inhaled eagerly. The walls were made of black basalt and slabs of shale with tiny shells fossilized inside it. I could hear the trickle of a water fountain out back. There were three single beds spaced far apart from each other with plenty of room. Nightstands and shelves made of varnished driftwood framed each headboard. The whole place had a beachy feel to it.

Nice, but it felt like some early mornings when I stood on the beach on cloudy days. Lonely.

As if noticing my tension Shayla replied, trying to cheer me up. "I like Poseidon Cabin, it's quiet. You won't have to worry about people messing with your stuff and you'll have all the privacy you'd want".

I picked up a picture frame and looked at intently. There were two guys in it. One had black hair with sea green eyes, a swimmer's build and an easy going smile. The other guy was taller, wider with frizzy brown hair and crooked teeth, but he also had a smile on him, but his looked almost toddler-like. They both had on orange Camp Half-Blood t-shirts as they sat down at one of the tables at lunch and posed for the camera.

"Those are your brothers, on the godly side, Percy and Tyson". She explained as she took the picture and put it back on the nightstand. "Percy's gone home though. He's getting ready for college with his girlfriend, Annabeth. I like his mom, she always brought candy from the shop she used to work at before she quit and wrote a book". She rubbed her tummy affectionately just thinking about it. "You'd like him, he's sort of a hero in camp. He left before I got here. But apparently he saved the world, twice, bridged the gap between the Greek and Roman demigods and prevented a civil war and made it so all half-bloods would get claimed by their godly parent and lead safely here".

"Wow, big shoes to fill" I mused as I stared at my big brother. "And who's that?" I pointed at the other guy.

"Oh, that's Tyson, he drifts in and out of camp to check on his girlfriend Ella. But most of the time he's down under the ocean with your dad".

"Really? That's cool, think I could pop down for a visit myself?"

"Well you see, Tyson's different. He's not really a halfblood. He's Poseidon's kid sure, but his mom's one of those nature spirits; so he ended up a bit, different".

"Ehh?" I turned to look back at the picture trying to see what I missed. Two legs, two arms, one big brown eye… wait "One eye?"

"Yep, he's a Cyclops, but he's really nice. When he visits he makes all sorts of cool stuff with the Hephaestus kids. Last time he was here, he made a metal horse. It looked and acted just like a real horse, we even put it in the stables. Worked great too, until Tyson decided to ride on his metal 'pony'. It just couldn't take the strain and crumpled under the big guy. Poor Tyson cried for an hour until they fixed it up. You look pretty cool about all this".

I sighed tiredly as I sat on the empty bed. "At this point Shayla, nothing surprises me".

Shayla frowned as she stared at me and then shouted, "Ooh, I almost forgot! Because everyone got excited over you getting claimed, Chiron didn't get to say the reminder. We're supposed to have a friendly game of Capture the Flag, the camp's way of saying welcome. Everyone breaks up into teams and then the winners get privileges and prizes. It's really fun. And well, since your cabin mates aren't here; I was wondering if you wanted to join up with me and the rest of Apollo cabin tomorrow?"

I smiled as I rubbed the top of her head happily. "Sure, why not? Sounds like a blast".

"Great!" She smiled showing off her missing top two teeth. "Oh just be careful with the campers from Ares cabin. They tend to go overkill. And they'll be probably be really rough on you" she emphasized as she stared at me.

"Why? I mean, we seemed pretty chill when I got here. But soon as I got claimed, they've all given me the cold shoulder".

"Ehh, it's Percy. See when he first came to camp, he sort of er, soaked the head counselor of Ares Cabin with toilet water".

"How'd he manage that?"

"Oh she tried to give him a swirlee and he made all the toilets erupt and soaked her in the face. Apparently it was pretty epic. But it really ticked them all off. And then later Percy got into a fight with their dad Ares and he got him pretty good in the ankle. He was so pissed at Percy, he even put a curse on him. Percy broke it but still, it was pretty crazy". She walked over to the doorway and showed herself out. Over her shoulder she called out. "Just avoid the whole bunch of them. They're way too competitive. I mean, the other cabins want to win too don't get me wrong, but Ares Cabin wants blood".

I turned away from the door and walked over to the fountain. I washed my face in it and felt refreshed as I stared at my reflection, green eyes: just like Percy's and my dad's. "Dad? Why're the Ares campers so crazy about winning?" I stood there and waited for a sign, but nothing came. "Figures, but it was worth a try" I sighed annoyed before I crashed into the bed and fell asleep.

* * *

I dreamed that night. Usually I was a deep sleeper, but I guess coming to camp and seeing monsters gave me a lot of food for thought.

I could see myself standing in the arena where I fought Roxy and Maxwell but it looked different. There were banners of silk hanging from poles all around the center. Twelve of them, I figured they had to represent each of the Olympians. I felt my body move like I was running on autopilot. My sword cut through the air like a knife through butter.

I could hear myself groan as I put myself through a rough pace. Right slash, left slash, jab and twist. How long had I been at this? The sun was barely peeking over the horizon. Everyone must have been asleep still in their bed.

My head looked up from the ground and I took in the carnage. There were scarecrows hacked to pieces littering the ground. My body flew forward and brought more of the dummies down. Only on the last one did I feel my body waver and my strike felt off. I hit the pole of scarecrow with a glancing blow, just enough to graze the wood, but not enough to bash through it.

I could feel a heavy gaze burning my back as I tensed my shoulders and raised the blade for a second strike, easily felling my opponent.

"You hesitated" a deep voice called from behind me.

My shoulders sagged as my blade slipped from my fingers and rattled on the floor. I barely had the strength to look the guy in the eye, even my neck was tired from the strain. "I finished him with a second strike. The first blow would have startled him and allowed me time to finish him off" I explained against my will.

The man growled as he swiped his hand out at me. I ducked as if to avoid him, even though he was across the field from me and couldn't possibly strike me from there. "No excuses little boy. In a real fight you won't get a second chance. You need to attack swiftly and absolutely. War is coming Beau, your brothers and sisters must raise arms and train for the battle. And you Beau, I push you hardest, because you must lead them, and all the others against your foes. Or be doomed to die on the losing side".

Ares groaned as he knelt onto one knee. His face looked pained, eyes clenched tightly closed. He held his spear so tightly, his fingers turned bone white. I watched in confusion as the god appeared to flicker before me. One minute he kneeled there wearing a bronze chestplate and a short red tunic. And the next his clothing changed so he had a long, flowing purple cape, a golden chestplate and shield along with his spear.

In an instant, he changed back to the way he was and explosively let out a breath he'd been holding. "Are you well father?" Beau asked with confusion and concern in his voice.

Ares swatted me away as he opened his eyes and glared at me with a burning gaze. His eyes exploded like cannon fire. Ares forced himself up and then bitterly replied, "I'm fine. Just do as I command Beau. Or you will live to regret it" in an instant, Ares erupted in a pillar of flames and then vanished into thin air.

* * *

I threw off my covers as I jumped up in my bed, sitting as I took a look around in the dark and panted. My heart pounded in my throat and felt like I was burning up, as if I was there myself in front of the god. I lay back down, trying to go back to sleep, listening to the trickle of the fountain. But I couldn't get the face of Ares out my mind. With a father like Ares, I could understand why his kids couldn't afford to lose. Earning the wrath of Ares was scary...


	14. Capture the Flag with Unlikely Allies

**Chapter 13: Capture the Flag with Unlikely Allies**

That morning I got out of bed when I heard the sound of a conch shell being blown in the distance. I went over to the fountain to freshen up and then went over to the closet. I opened the door and a bunch of stuff spilled out onto the floor. My two carry-ons crashed down onto my bare feet before being buried by an assortment of gear.

I jumped back jumping around on one foot, massaging the other before switching feet. I must have looked like an idiot, thankfully no one was around to see.

I gazed down at the top of the offending pile of stuff in front of me: a gleaming bronze sword and shield along with a chest plate shined in front of me. I picked them up and tried them on. Huh perfect fit…

I found strips of tough leather rolled up. I unrolled them with a snap, cracking them like a set of whips before rolling them around my wrists and ankles.

I walked over to the mirror and judged the reflection, now I look the part, let's see if I an act it without making an idiot of me. "Morning Alex!" I dropped my sword from surprise and almost stabbed my foot, so much for that... "When you're done admiring your reflection Narcissus, we need to get a move on. Everyone from my cabin is already on the center green waiting" Shayla replied impatiently.

"Uh yeah sorry" I trotted out of the cabin and closed the door behind me. The lawn was abuzz with activity. It felt like one thing to have everybody gathered around the fire just for songs and food. The energy around everyone now, made it feel as if we were heading to war.

Not really though, because everyone still had smiles on their faces for the most part. I mean who would be excited about real war?

A loud bunch whoops and battle cries erupted into the air as the cabin with barbed wire and battle trenches in the front yard spilled out its campers. The kids marched out dressed to kill; wearing heavy bronze armor, leather warrior kilts and red helms and metal leg and arm braces. Then they smiled as they bumped into each other with a soldier-like camaraderie. I stared at them, the Ares kids were rough, but to be honest, I wanted something like that for myself too. Being a single sibling at home and even here with my cabin mates out in the world; it felt lonely.

It was only after a minute that I felt as if I had a burning gaze on me. It felt like Ares himself was glaring at me. I looked around and saw Maxwell, his eyes were fixed on mine. He growled as he sneered and tightly held onto the shaft of his battle ax. He looked ready to kill somebody. Oh happy day and I'm in the crosshairs.

The Apollo campers were gathered in front of their cabin, ready for the fun. Everyone had traded in their guitars and harps for bows and arrows. Dressed in light, short cotton tunics with only leather wrappings for protection; these kids were prepared for running and being on the move. Although I wasn't sure how much good a bit of leather would be against Maxwell's axe or Roxy's sword...

Looking across the field I saw that there were two banners: One was the familiar dark green banner I saw hanging over the doorway of Hermes cabin. The one with the white caduceus with two snakes named Martha and George wrapped around it (who'd name snakes that?). The other had a sea green background with a bronze trident glowing on it. The silk shimmered in the sun as the flag fluttered in the wind.

An older guy from the Apollo kids came up to me holding it. He had an easy smile on his face as he held his hand out, "Will Solace, head counselor for Apollo Cabin, Shayla's been talking my ear off about you".

I uncomfortably rubbed the back of my neck as I took him in. He was tall, I'd say 5'11" maybe more. Slim but toned like a runner. He had a beaming smile that radiated like his tanned skin and light blonde hair.

I took his hand after a moment, "Err, sorry about that".

He looked at me with a confused look on his face before he replied with cheeky grin, "Oh no, it's all good. Honestly, it's nice to have someone else looking out for her too. She's one of the youngest campers, and trouble has a tendency of finding her. So, it's nice she's found a friend in you. She's also a good judge of character so any friend of hers is a friend of mine".

I smiled too, easing up as my tension thawed a bit and I stopped slouching. He was about ready to ask me something when Ares Cabin came rushing up to us. Their arms were crossed, shoulders back, backs straight and bellies in. I thought the ground shuddered a bit as they came toward us. Roxy declared in a certain voice, "We're going to cream you guys so bad, you gonna wish you've never been born". Her voice had an edge to it. "And as for you" she added pointedly at me. "We are going to take that flag from your hands and we will break you, totally, while we do it. Got it?!"

I looked at her, at all their faces. They looked terrifying sure, but I also had the feeling it was all a show. The Apollo campers looked a bit terrified by such a direct threat, but I could see it in the Ares campers' eyes. How they broke contact from me for just an instant, how they fidgeted in their gear, or a hand would twitch. They were afraid. Afraid of what, me, losing, their dad? I couldn't say for sure.

I nodded silently as they walked off. Shayla muttered under her breath, "they're crazy".

Will looked down at her with a wide eye. "And you wonder why I worry about you. You keep saying stuff like that and one day you're going to be a grease stain. Just try to keep comments like that inside Shayla, after all let's try to be nice. If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all…"

* * *

I watched as the other campers gathered around on the lawn and took stock of them. Clovis and the rest of Hypno cabin were sitting on benches, pleasantly dozing without a care in the world. Looked like they were out of the game before it even started. Although Will warned me they were deceptively threatening. Any camper who lingered around them too long ended up falling asleep.

The Hecate campers were practicing their illusions. Some of them looked pretty convincing, I wouldn't want to be the sap who stumbled into a tree hidden in plain sight or drop down into a disguised rabbit hole.

Hephaestus cabin was messing around with some automatons, they looked life-like enough. I really didn't think it was fair. There were only so many campers, but they could always build more robot grunts to help their side. Athena cabin looked like they already had a strategy devised. The head counselor was Annabeth, but seeing that she had left to finish her last year of high school, the next down the totem pole took over. A guy by the name of Malcolm analyzed me as if I were a confounding variable in a math problem. He looked like he couldn't care less about me and the rest of my teammates, except that we were in the way of what he wanted.

The kids from Aphrodite Cabin were not much to contend with. They were much more worried about fixing their hair and making sure their outfits were spotless. I wasn't even sure why they bothered to play at all. Although, maybe they'd surprise me, after all, I'd heard stories about Piper McLean. Maybe if the rest of her cabin was like her, they'd be contenders. But it seemed like lightning only struck once with that cabin, twice if you count Silena, but that's a messy topic for the other campers...

Chiron clopped out into the middle of us. He stared out happily into the assembly and then began to speak. "I am pleased to see everyone here today. The games are always more fun when everyone participates". Maybe he's why everyone's here. "In any case it would seem that the teams have been struck for today's game. However, I would like to make a small alteration".

Alteration? Uh oh, that doesn't sound good.

"Yes, having a three-way fight for two flags doesn't seem right. So instead I have decided to put two of the teams together to make for a more balanced match-up. Apollo Cabin" everyone around me jumped at the mention of their dad. "You will be allied with Ares Cabin. Now go on everyone, you will have thirty minutes to prepare your strategies and finalize your defenses". He cantered away before anyone could flag him down. The coward, why'd he stir up the hornet's nest and left us with it?

* * *

Ares Cabin stormed up to us. The spear wielders stabbed their shafts into the ground while everyone else brandished their weapons as if to use them on us. "This is stupid, we don't want to be on the same team as you! We'd rather pair up with Hermes, if only to rip that flag out of your hands".

"This wasn't our idea lamebrains" Shayla childishly huffed. "We wouldn't pair up with you even if all the other cabins were pitted against us".

"Lamebrains? Really, that the best you can come up with?" Roxy fired back. "Oh I'm so insulted" she mockingly replied.

"I'm eight. I'd have to wash my mouth afterward if I cussed like you".

"Go to Tartarus you soon to be grease stain" Roxy growled through her teeth.

"Enough!" I shouted, silencing both cabins and grabbing the attention of the other campers straggling nearby. "You all hate our guts" I mentioned toward Ares Cabin. "And you said, if you can't say something nice, zip it right? I directed at Will. The Ares campers snorted before nodding their heads. Will huffed before giving me a nod. "Chiron told us to work together, so let's figure this out" I demanded as I stood between them.

"Who died and made you leader?" Roxy complained.

I evaded the question with one of my own. "If you were in charge Roxy, what would you have us do?"

Roxy rolled her eyes before she smirked and raised her sword. "Easy. We raise our weapons, rush into battle and clear out anyone who gets in our way. With luck, everyone will run away screaming with their tails between their legs. The few stragglers we find, we clobber with overwhelming force. We run into hostile territory, grab the flag and run back for home".

"Right" Austin complained. "You expect us to go charging in a full-on assault, dressed like this?" He gestured at their light armor and clothes. Roxy and the other Ares campers shrugged as if they couldn't care less. "You're idiots, the whole lot of you. Bow and Arrow is not meant for charging assault. It's meant for long distance sniping. I say we quietly approach the front lines and take out a camper at a time. We slip past their lines, grab the flag and then sprint back for home before they knew we were even there".

"Now who's talking crazy." Roxy questioned. "We are Ares Cabin, children of the God of War, of Bloodshed and Chaos on the Battlefield. We don't do quiet".

"Try" Kayla off-handedly replied as she shrugged.

Ugh, this was getting nowhere, fast. Each side had their own way of doing things, and neither would give in to the other. At this rate, we'd be easy pickings for the other campers while we squabbled out here in the open…

* * *

"Gods!" I exclaimed as I threw my arms out at the fighting sides. "This is ridiculous". I couldn't help but felt this must have been exactly like when Catherine was in the middle of a fight between Ares Cabin and her own, the Athena Cabin. Back in the day, the two cabins were matched up by none other than Chiron. The two sides appeared unable to see eye to eye on anything. But then Cat picked up on the one thing that both sides shared and rolled with it…

"You both want to win don't you?" Roxy looked at me, her face was red as a cherry and she looked like she was about to explode; before she explosively released her breath and huffed. Will looked with a suspicious glance toward me before he shrugged his shoulders in agreement. "If you want to win, we've got to work together. The only way we do that is if we compromise".

"Compromise? With them? They have the Tusk, it's unfair" Roxy huffed.

"Get over it" Shayla fired back as she crossed her arms.

I stared at her with a very intentional glare, 'Zip it'. "Now it's obvious Ares Cabin wants to go charging in gung ho and raising all Hades on the playing field, right" Maxwell nodded quietly while Roxy declared, "Duh".

"While Apollo Cabin wants to take a cautious approach to reaching the flag".

"It's less risky certainly" Will added.

"I say we use a mix of the two strategies. Ares Campers will move forward drawing as much attention to themselves as possible while trying to flush out any campers they run into. Apollo campers will take positions up in the trees or in the back, sniping targets. Ares Cabin will make the final push, grab the flag and run back to our side of the river"

Ares cabin nodded along with the idea. "But why do they get the flag? We do all the hard work picking off the targets" one of the Apollo guys complained.

"Because I'm sick and tired of you guys fighting with each other over that stupid tusk. That thing's been crap for camp morale anyway. But Ares campers you think they were wrong keeping the trophy, well here's the deal. You get the flag and all the perks that go with it and forget about the trophy. And Apollo campers you don't have to deal with any more Ares angst".

"Until the next trophy" one of the Apollo campers mumbled under his breath.

I glared at him to zip it too.

"I guess we can deal" Roxy nonchalantly agreed as she rubbed a spot on her armor making it gleam with a fine polish.

Will sighed tiredly, "I agree. There will always be other Capture the Flag games".

"Great whatever, we've made up, hugs and kisses and all that; but we've got five minutes to set up shop before Horseman toots his horn" Roxy rudely added. I sighed tiredly as everyone moved out, Maxwell gave me a deep look before giving me a light nod of his head in acknowledgement before joining up with the rest of his siblings"


	15. Using a Trick of my Older Bro's

**Chapter 14: Using a Trick of my Older Bro's**

I'll be honest, I didn't think this was going to work. But you pray to anyone who might be listening for the best anyway. I remained behind with my flag, to make sure nothing would happen to it. Shayla wanted to stay behind with me. But I had a feeling that I might get some unwanted company later, so I told her to go off with Will. She stomped off with her little bow and with a frown on her face; while Will followed shortly after throwing me a smile and a silent thank you as he left.

For most of the game, not much happened around me. I could relax by the creek watching the flag as it fluttered in the wind. My head would jerk up when I heard one of the campers charge loudly out into the forest, followed by the surprised and scared screams of some of the other kids. Then I'd hear an arrow zip through the air and hit a trunk of a tree with a clunk; followed by the sound of someone straining. "Got him" a quiet voice would reply from up in the trees.

As much as the Ares campers would have loved to maul people with their wide assortment of toys, I suggested that a less harmful strategy be used. Roxy ran out swinging her sword side to side, clearing the shrubbery like she was out on safari with a machete. If she ran into someone, she'd make a ton of noise, drawing attention to herself. The other camper would be surprised or shocked hopefully. Meanwhile, the archers posted themselves up in the trees and lined up their sights on the flushed out camper. They'd notch an arrow and then let it rip, skillfully zipping through the air and then pinning the camper to a tree or down on the ground by a piece of their clothes. Much to the annoyance of the kids from Aphrodite Cabin who wailed as if they actually got wounded. "My Gucci shirt! Oh my Gods, that was precious. You ruined it!"

The strategy worked well, until the Demeter kids decided to get in on the action. They took one look at the archers up in the trees and raised a hand up at them. Thick vines of ivy began to scale up the trunk of the trees like a snake. Will looked worriedly down at it as it started wrapping around his leg. But just before it grew anymore; the vine suddenly began to wither and slip off the tree. Katie Gardner followed the vine back down to the ground and locked eyes with Maxwell, whose axe cleanly chopped right through the base of the vine.

Before Katie could call for help, an arrow went through the air, through her shirt, pinning her to the ground. "Thanks" Will called down to the ground. Maxwell nodded before he continued charging quietly on.

Our side encountered little resistance after that. Though Hephaestus Cabin's automatons were a bit too sturdy to be pierced by an arrow; Maxwell hefted his axe like he was aiming for a baseball and swung hard. He chopped the robot's head right off and sent it flying up into the trees. Its body started spitting sparks and playing 'Patty Cake' with itself before falling over onto its side in a twitchy fit.

Maxwell lead the charge, with the rest of his cabin behind him and most of the Apollo campers since everyone had been pinned down, except for Athena Cabin. They crossed over a little creek and he set his eyes on the dark green banner. No one was around except for the Stoll Brothers cracking some jokes to pass the time.

"Alright. Alright" Travis quickly replied. "What breed of horse was the Trojan horse?"

Connor scratched his head as he shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know, a wooden horse?"

"No, brother of mine, a nightmare".

Connor thought it over for a minute before cracking a grin, "hah, that's a good one. Try this one on: What walks on all fours in the morning, two at noon and three at the end of the day".

Travis rolled his eyes, "no contest, Connor".

"We've all heard that one a hundred times" Maxwell interrupted. The two brothers jolted up and then slowly turned their heads toward the eavesdroppers.

"Oh, hey guys, what are you all doing here?" Travis asked with a weak chuckle.

Maxwell had his axe shaft on his shoulder as he casually walked up to them. He was shorter than them by a good couple of inches but wider in the shoulders than both put together. "You know…" he simply stated as he eyed their flag. "So are we going to do this the easy way, or the hard way" he emphasized 'hard' by clutching onto the shaft of his axe tightly.

The two brothers looked at each other as if having a silent conversation. They smiled and nodded with mutual confirmation and turned tail and ran screaming; leaving the banner behind.

"A pity, I was hoping for a good fight" Roxy sighed as she tossed her brown hair over her shoulder.

Maxwell shrugged, "we pick our battles Roxy". He stepped forward and yanked the banner out of the rock like King Arthur. "Well? Come on then" he added when everyone stared at him wondering what to do. "Alex's on his own out there, better head back". And with that everyone came running through the forest, with Max leading them, with Hermes banner in hand.

* * *

Like I said, not much was going on at my end. I sat around most of the time just twiddling my thumbs. Then I noticed something odd. The wind had died, the birds silent. I looked out into the forest but saw nothing. Then I heard a noise coming from the side that drew me into the trees, away from my post. A growl called out from the undergrowth before a giant black mastiff charged out. "You got to be kidding me".

I raised my sword up to deter the monster, but it ignored the brown shine of the bronze. I raised an eyebrow at it as it bared its sharp canines fearlessly at me.

It lunged for me, trying to take a bite at me. It expected me to turn around and run away. Instead, with its head low to the ground I jumped, trying to run over its back and strike it from behind.

But to my surprise, I fell right through the hellhound like it wasn't even there. It backed off and chomped at me. Its teeth attempted to slice me up but phased right through me. Then I realized, "Mist!" I looked and saw a young girl, deep in concentration as the dog started to whimper from not being able to scare me. I rushed toward her, pushing her over and breaking her concentration; causing her to gasp and the hellhound to vanish in a puff of smoke.

I glared down at her. "What the heck, are you trying to give me a heart attack?"

She smiled up at me like she'd gotten what she wanted and snuck a glance at my banner. It rocked side to side by itself, before lifting out of the ground and slowly floating away under its own power.

"What the… oh no you don't!" I picked up my sword and threw it at the tree in front of the fleeing flag. Its point got stuck in the trunk like an oversized dart. The flag ran right into it and then bounced off and clattered onto the ground. Imagine my surprise when Malcolm suddenly came into view rubbing his sore chest and a Yankees baseball cap lying innocently on the ground.

"Confound it Sadie, I needed just ten more seconds" Malcolm grumbled as he reached for the hat desperately.

"How'd you do that?" I asked dumbly.

Malcolm darkly glared at me he dusted himself off. "Baseball hat, a gift of Mother's. Annabeth left it for me when she went to school. Grants invisibility to its wearer. I was going to sneak in and out while you were distracted by the Mist monster, courtesy of Hecate Cabin's Sadie. But I'll manage in any case". He reached for the flag and made ready to run off.

"You think I'm going to just let you go?"

"Well, seeing as you are weaponless, and I still have mine" he lifted his dagger and let it shine in the sun. "It would be best if you let me pass and be on my way". He started walking off before I glared at him.

"Like Tartarus I will!" I bellowed as he started running off. "Hey!" Malcolm didn't even turn to listen. "Freeze!" I shouted as I clenched my fists and started marching toward him. The wind started to pick up. the little creek suddenly rose up like a wall of water, blocking Malcolm's way. Then I snorted and swatted my hand at him, sic'ing the wave after him. Malcolm's eyes went wide as he turned to run, but the water picked him up before he could get far. The wave carried him back over the rocks and dropped him, leaving him a dripping, sputtering mess with the banner next to him.

I walked up to him exhausted, nearly about to crumple in on myself. I picked up the banner with Poseidon's trident glowing on it and stabbed it back in the ground.

I turned around to a couple of people clapping and cheering as they came into the clearing. Maxwell lead everyone as he came up next to me, carrying Hermes' banner in his hand. I stepped aside and let Max come forward and he jabbed his banner next to mine. Immediately the dark green boiled away and became blood red. The white caduceus burned as a boar and a pair of crossed spears glinted like silver in the silk.

Ares Cabin cheered and bumped into each other happily while the Apollo campers politely clapped in acknowledgement. Max leveled a gaze with mine and then reached forward and clasped my forearm with one of his thick, meaty hands and shook it firmly. "Good plan" he nodded with respect. "We won" he added with a tight half grin.


	16. Horseman Knows Something

**Chapter 15: Horseman Knows Something...**

I'll admit it was a blast being carried into camp. The kids from Apollo Cabin had me up on their shoulders, while Ares Cabin lifted Maxwell on theirs. We carried our flags in hand spinning them around, while Athena Cabin looked at me with annoyance and all the other campers were busy mending their clothes and patching up cuts and scrapes.

Chiron watched from the distance at the good cheer. He stared as the two cabins came in wearing laurels and then focused on me. Somehow, he knew I would be able to bridge the gap between the two squabbling cabins and make them agree to an unlikely alliance. His long tail nervously flicked from side to side but he tried to give a reassuring smile to the campers as they sat around the fire.

The news out in the field had not been pleasing to hear. Grover had told him about about satyrs going out to fetch new half-bloods; only to never return. At first Chiron had hoped it was only a matter of delay. But if my case was anything to go by, it was more likely the kids and satyrs were running afoul of monsters.

As the night's fun and songs were wearing down and kids started heading to their cabins, the old centaur got up and followed me to my cabin. Before I managed to go in and hit the hay Chiron called out, "Alex, if I may have a moment of your time?"

I shrugged as I held open the door and allowed him to come in behind me. He looked around at the two empty beds and sighed tiredly. His eyes drifted over to my things when he glanced over the journals. His eyes went wide before he broke contact and stared out the back window, his back muscles twitched as if he were ready to sprint out of my cabin.

"You recognize those books?" I asked him as I picked them up and showed them off. "The red one just showed up in my bedroom one day. And the other one some weird librarian gave me before she disappeared on me".

"Di immortales, why" he asked quietly to the ceiling as if he were talking to someone before he stared back at me. "I'm not to speak of it, I swore on the River Styx. I never thought I'd see you again" his eyes went wide before he clammed up.

"We've met before? I don't remember but I can't help but feeling I'd never forget meeting a guy like you" I smiled, trying to hide the confusion I was feeling.

"Not exactly" Chiron replied, making me feel even worse. "Forget I said anything at all. The real reason I came was at the request of Grover, the satyr who brought you here. He was concerned about the tale of rogue monsters you brought back with you. Mr. Underwood is rather concerned about the Wild, and all the creatures that dwell in it. He is concerned that ancient creatures are stirring and will need to be dealt with. You will take him to where you encountered the shark creature and Grover will insure that it will cause no more trouble for all and sundry".

"Is that all?" I asked in an offhanded way. "Easy enough, I'm sure I can pencil that in for tomorrow" I snarkily replied while Chiron shook his head from exasperation.

"Rest for now. Tomorrow you will head out for your quest. But don't worry, I'm sure you'll be fine. We'll have you armed and stocked with food, money, whatever essentials you'll need. You'll be back in no time" he explained, in a way that sounded as if he were trying to assure himself, just as much as me. He looked at me like a soldier going off to battle and doomed never to return.

"Oh" he added as an afterthought. "Do make sure to see Rachael before you leave, she may be able to offer some insight". He clip-clopped out of my cabin and quietly closed the door behind him.

* * *

I crashed onto my bed with a groan. That good feeling that I was surfing on before had run out of steam and crashed right under me. I stared up at the ceiling in annoyance, trying to remember. I never met Chiron until the other day. I was absolutely sure of that. But the way he locked at me when I was sparing with Maxwell, it's like the centaur was playing a foggy memory over in his head.

And then, just before they started Capture the Flag, Chiron forced Apollo Cabin with Ares and then just left me with the mess. When he watched us returning, he looked out at us, expecting us to have lost. And yet he didn't look all that surprised that we managed to work together either. He just looked very nervous behind his smile.

Everybody liked Chiron, but he only got under my skin and made me feel more confused and unsure.

I reached over for the blue journal and then began to read a passage written by Catherine. The words ran in places and the paper was splotched with watermarks.

* * *

"The past week has been an emotional roller coaster, worse than Cyclone on Coney Island. After I woke up, I managed to send a line to my father. To be truthful, he was most distraught to find me missing from home; planning to call the coppers to go out hunting for me. He told me that what I had done was senseless and foolish and I took it. After all what could I say. 'Sorry. I was nearly masticated by a giant spider, do pardon me'. Instead I let him vent before I told him that I jumped on an opportunity to go to Camp Half-Blood, a healthy place on Long Island, filled with activities and a library crammed with traditional works of Greek mathematicians, writers and artists. I told him it would be a capital learning opportunity.

In the end, he acquiesced. Although he did tell me to give him advanced warning before running off. Lest I wear his old ticker out from fright. I promised him I would and quickly hung up, knowing that for every extra minute I was on the phone, more monsters massed at the border of camp.

After staying at camp for only a night, my mother saw fit to claim me in front all and sundry. It was a bit shocking. One minute everyone was eating around the fire like something out of the Boy Scouts, and the next they were staring at me as if I had a giant target over my head.

"What?" They stared at me in silence "Well do spit it out".

Chiron announced, "all hail Catherine Macintyre, daughter of Athena, Goddess of Wisdom, Honor and Crafting Skill".

"Athena?" My mother's name was Athena, I looked up and saw a light blue-white owl fluttering above me before it faded away with a hoot.

Following that we had a game of Capture the Flag, a brilliant spot of fun, if it were not for the unfortunate aside that our esteemed activities director decided to pair up my cabin with the Ares campers. You would presume that two deities of war could cooperate for a common goal. You would be wrong. Athena represents order and honor and the good things of war, while Ares represents chaos, destruction, and the horrors of war. Day and Night at its finest.

However, I had a competitive streak a mile long, and if I wanted to win a stupid contest, then I'll move Heaven and Earth to do it. What's a measly bunch of campers going to do to keep in my way? Apparently, a good deal. I had almost been run through by a spear, courtesy of an Ares camper, while my new brothers and sisters stood aside and watched. Finally, I rallied them around the one thing they both wanted, victory. I touted the honor and prestige Athena Cabin would receive, while Ares Cabin reveled in the fighting and torture they would get to ensue in the game.

In the end, the Ares campers satisfied their blood lust and put several campers in the infirmary, whilst the Athena campers ran off with the banner.

* * *

It was all fun and games until I found myself bored to tears with nothing to do. I was studying the works of Da Vinci and had a notebook, making a sketch of one of his prototypes: one of a fixed wing, flying machine. Oh, certainly the Wright Brothers were the first to make something that could fly, for a paltry two-hundred fifty meters. But Da Vinci was centuries before that, and was reputed to have built a gliding machine far sturdier than the Wright plane and could glide further. If one could just couple the powered capabilities of the Wright plane and the strength and reach of Da Vinci's glider; that would be a success worth tooting about.

"What you doing? I closed my book on my sketch and looked up. "Wallace, have you heard of knocking? It's considered proper".

The Hephaestus camper gave a cocky grin as he sat down the chair across from me, smearing grease on the wood. "I did, believe it or not, but you were so wrapped up in your work, you didn't even bat an eyelash. What you working on?" he leaned forward trying to look into my books.

"As a matter of fact, none of your business". His smile faded as he crossed his arms defensively. "If you must know, I am researching schematics of Da Vinci's work. I was looking at it and comparing it to the Wright Brother's plane. The both have positives but also can be improved".

He grabbed at my sketch and compared it to the models I had sitting on my desk. He slowly smiled like a kid on Christmas, "you've made a hybrid of the two. Oh this is beautiful. The lines, the form, old and new. You thinking of building this?"

"Perish the thought. I couldn't work a hand tool to save my life."

"I could" he quickly replied. "If you want, you can keep working on this and we can take this baby off the drawing board and make her flesh and blood, err so to speak" Wallace embarrassingly added.

"Well" I hesitated at the thought before shrugging my shoulders. "Terribly boring, just sitting in here alone. Sure, why not" I smiled.

* * *

I closed the book and hummed to myself, "Catherine and Wallace sitting in a tree, K I SS I N G"


	17. I Dabble in the Arts

**Chapter 16: I Dabble in the Arts**

I woke up first thing in the morning to find the Oracle. The sooner I could find her and get this quest over with, the sooner I could put Jaws behind me. Only problem was, I actually didn't know where the Oracle lived. I walked out of my cabin and didn't see much life. Everyone was pretty beat from the partying after the game last night. I ran into one of the kids from Hermes Cabin. I tried to figure out if there were any hard feelings from yesterday. But as far as I could tell there weren't.

I asked which cabin the Oracle lived in and the little guy gave me a smirk. "She doesn't live on the common green. She's back in the woods a bit by the cliffs. She has a cave over there with a purple drape covering the entrance. Although I wouldn't go in there if I were you".

"Why?" I asked in a suspicious tone. But the little guy just gave me a sly smirk before walking away with my wallet in hand. "He hah hey, give that back kid! Is this going to be a running joke with you guys!" The Hermes kid chuckled as he ran off, at least he ditched my wallet and let me pick it up. I sighed as I turned toward the woods, "alright, let's see what we're dealing with here".

I don't know what I was expecting exactly: tall columns of marble with pits full of oil on fire, maybe some weird voodoo figures guarding the entrance. But what I got was a pretty tame-looking set up. A purple curtain hung over a wide opening into the rock wall. A golden flower was woven into the fabric. And hanging from the top of the entrance hung a set of simple silver chimes. They just hung there loosely even though there was a pleasant breeze blowing. Weird…

* * *

I pulled the curtain aside and walked into the strangest scene I've ever seen. It looked like someone had thrown up paint all over the floors, walls and even up on the ceiling. A girl with red, frizzy hair had her back to me as she mumbled to herself and rubbed her fingers over the paint, trying to make a pattern. I walked in, only to be surprised by a squawk to my side.

There was a very slim girl with brownish-red hair. She had a simple dress on and would have blended into the background if her arms weren't covered with long red feathers. She cocked her head as she looked at me and then replied "Hello."

"Uhm hello?" I replied.

"Hello, a form of greeting" the girl defined as she looked intently at me. "Greetings" she added after a pause.

I shook my head in acknowledgement and then turned to look at the other girl, who was now staring at me. She looked normal enough with green, bright eyes as she rubbed her messy hands on a painter's smock. "Excuse me. Are you the Oracle?"

The redhead replied with a nod and a smile. I was about to say more when the chimes outside started tinkling in the wind.

The girl's eyes went wide and had a smoky look to them as she raised a hand to shut me up. "Do you hear that?" She asked the other girl, who started shaking her head happily. "It's been ages since we've heard that sound". Rachel sounded relieved by the chimes.

"Sound" the feathered girl sighed happily. "A disturbance of molecules in a medium which reaches the ear…" Then she looked off in a different direction and explained as if reading from a textbook, "The ear of the African Elephant is far larger than that of the Indian. Whereas the Indian Ocean is only the third largest in the world".

Squawk! The girl screeched as she excitedly jabbered off a line, _"The world of the wild is rioting"._

"We know that Ella" Rachel affirmed as she gently tried to coax the slim girl to speak more. "The Calydonian Boar was a dead give away".

Ella chirped as she preened her feathers thoughtfully. She paused before replying, "Give away, a fabulous sweepstakes, you win a prize. Prizes, prizes for one and all at the fair" she declared in an announcer's loud, booming voice".

Then she became quiet and spoke softly. "A fair, a Renaissance fair, is incomplete without a fair maiden, of doves". She paused, tapping her finger on her chin adding, "though doves make excellent target practice for the Far-shooter. He makes such wonderful music. 'Music soothes the savage beast', a misquote of William Congreve in _Mourning Bride_ ".

She gasped as she chattered and twiddled her fingers nervously.

" _The world of the wild is rioting_

 _Torn asunder unless given soothing._

 _Seek the Shark, born on land, undying_

 _In steps of the Satyr, Son of Sea shall tread._

 _A Lady of Doves walks the shores with dread._

 _The youngest of the Archer, shall soothe with a lyre_

 _While the Son of Ares, sets passions afire._

 _Only by a kiss, graced by myrtle,_

 _Will the monster, like a frog, come full circle…"_

Ella's face broke into a smile as she whistled like a songbird. "It's the Circle of Life, and it moves us all, through despair and hope…"

Rachel rolled her eyes as she interrupted. "Alright Ella, that's enough, no need to break out singing Lion King".

"Uhh" I looked back and forth between the two off them. I was certain one of them had to be certifiably insane. "Sorry to bother you. I was sent by Chiron to talk to the Oracle, but it looks like you're busy enough" I made for a hasty retreat out the doorway and back into the light.

"Oh, terribly sorry about putting you off, but you see it's been weeks since we've had divine inspiration knocking at our door" the redhead pointed to the top of the opening.

"The chimes?" I asked stupidly.

"Right" she nodded as she explained. "You see ever since the Oracle of Delphi got pinned under the monstrous serpent, Python, it's been hard to do my job, seeing into the future, offering advice and what not. Not that I was terribly reliable in the first place, but it's gotten worse. Anyway, we devised a way to connect to the Fates using an even older source, the Grove of Dodona. It's a small gathering of ancient trees that whisper about the world. The problem is, most of the time, the forest is spitting out senseless prattle. But once in a while, the forest says something useful, the chimes go off grabbing our attention, and Ella listens and tries to interpret what it says".

"Interpreter" Ella nodded sagely with a deep bow, "Sacajawea was an interpreter for Lewis and Clark and a symbol of peace for their caravan".

I stared at Ella cautiously, she seemed a bit, off.

Rachel calmly added, "this is Ella. A long time ago, she read works of the Sibylline priestesses and memorized them and is a book lover in general. She's a harpy, but she's a very sweet girl, don't let the feathers get to you".

"Right" I replied vaguely, "the feathers were what got to me."

"In any case, you heard what you were looking for. Since you're a new face, I'd wager you're Alex. And if you are, then you're the only Son of Poseidon at Camp. Ergo, guy in the prophecy".

"But what do I do?" I asked dumbly.

Rachel rolled her eyes as she looked for a sympathetic look from Ella. "Boys" she sadly groaned. Ella nodded in agreement. "The prophecy says you need to go out and find some sort of monstrous shark. You'll need a volunteer from Aphrodite Cabin, one from Ares Cabin and the youngest child of the Archer. Well since Artemis never had kids, the Archer has to be Apollo. Can't tell you where the shark is but…"

"Uhm, actually I know where to find the shark. Me and Grover are supposed to track it down somewhere off of Florida".

"Brilliant!" Rachel exclaimed with delight before she rubbed her hands together. Then she looked over at the door and saw me still standing there. "Well off you go then!" And with that I was bumped out of the cave while Rachel and Ella conversed, trying to make sense of wind chime tinkling.


	18. I Pack Some Friends for Florida

**Chapter 17: I Pack Some Friends for a Trip to Florida**

With my back to the cave, I returned to the cabins, tracking down the campers who Rachel said I would need to come with me on the trip.

I first ran into Shayla, an energetic ball of sunshine, like always, she skipped up the way and then came up to me with wide eyes. "So, what did Rachel say?" She asked in quiet voice. I looked around and noticed that everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at me intently.

I shrugged my shoulders, "she told me I was taking a trip to track down Sharkzilla. No surprise there, I was going to take Grover down there anyway. She said I had to take a few campers with me to get the job done". I looked down at her. Shayla was hanging on my every word, slowly leaning forward until her head was under my chin, her eyes beaming up at mine.

"And?" her voice was tight as a harp string.

"She told me, I need to have the youngest child of Apollo come with me. Something about playing music and soothing a beast".

Her eyes went wide as a small smile came on her face. "Oh Gods, I don't know what to say" she replied completely tongue tied. "That's me" she whispered. "I'm going on a quest!" She belted out for everyone to hear. She threw her arms up and went 'whoop whoop!' going around me in circles. "My very first one" she added after she quieted down to a dull roar.

"I take it this is a big deal?" Alex looked at her in confusion.

"Well yeah!" she sighed in a disbelieving tone. "I haven't left camp since I came in kindergarten".

"But what about your mom?" I looked at her in surprise.

She clammed up. She simply replied, "I don't talk about her". Then the smile returned to her face as she spun about. "So who else is coming?"

I told her the prophecy and her nose wrinkled once she heard who our other companions would be. "Daughter of Aphrodite? She'll just slow us down!" She whined petulantly and stamped her foot. "And a Son of Ares? Sounds like a recipe for disaster".

"You want to take it up with Rachel?" I asked as Shayla's face turned white.

"No no" she quickly replied. "I'm good, not the best, but I'm good. Common sense to never go messing with a prophecy. Even a stupid one…" she muttered under her breath.

* * *

We walked over together to Aphrodite Cabin. I didn't spend much time by it. But it was a vision in Pink. The sidewalk leading up to it was paved with red and pink stones. The wooden siding was painted a light pink and the flowers planted out front were red, white, purple and pink carnations and crape myrtle bushes. I walked up to the door knocked on it.

An angry southern accent called out from behind the door as the locks were unlatched. The door was thrown to the side as the scowling face of Drew Tanaka glared out at me. A confused look fell on her before she morphed it into an angelic smile. "Why Alex, how are you doin' honey? Please, please! Come right on in". She backed in and held her hand out to guide us in.

Me and Shayla walked in, though as soon as we stepped into the door; Shayla gagged on thick flower perfume that choked the air. I barely managed to keep my eyes from watering as I looked around. The boys were sitting on their beds on the right side and the girls on the left. All of them looked between me and Drew as if they were afraid of saying or doing something wrong.

"Thank you Drew" I told her as I stood inside. "You see Mam".

"Oh" she gasped and then gave me a coy smile as she chuckled under her hand. "Why Alex, I'm only a few years older than you. Please, call me Drew honey" she batted her eyes seductively at me. Shayla gagged again, and the other Aphrodite campers snickered behind her. Drew looked over her shoulder and gave one cold glare and silenced the whole cabin at once.

"Well you see Drew, you might have heard about the Calydonian Boar that attacked camp the other day".

"Why sure sugar, every bit of hearsay comes through these here four walls".

"Well I'm going out on a quest with Grover Underwood to track down Sharkzilla off of Florida. I visited Rachel to see if she could give me any advice".

"Oh the poor dear" Drew sighed in an exaggerated voice. "Her all seeing eye's so foggy, she can't even predict what day of the week it will be tomorrow".

"In any case" I tried to keep Shayla from starting a fight from Drew's careless insults. "Rachel had a prediction, that I'd need some help on the quest. And one person's coming from this cabin".

The Aphrodite kids stared at me like deer in headlights, even Drew looked at me a bit pale under her blush, "you don't say" she hesitantly replied.

"Yeah, Rachel mentioned something about a Lady of Doves treads with fear".

"Yes!" The boys in the cabin whispered as they high fived each other. Drew gave them all the evil eye and they all went quiet.

"Well, in any case, I suppose one of us ladies will have to go, since the boys won't suffice". She said 'boys' like she was scolding her brothers like little toddlers. "Cassidy, why don't you go?" Way to throw a camper under a bus…

Cassidy's eyes went wide as she stammered out-loud. "Bu-But Drew. You know I hate the ocean. Please don't make me…"

But before the girl could even get out a single sentence, Drew gave her a level glare and told her, "Cassidy, pipe down honey". There had to be power behind those words, because Cassidy immediately went quiet. Her eyes went wide, pleading loudly, even though her voice failed her. "All in favor of sending off Cassidy for this venture say aye. And people, the answer is aye". The boys quickly said aye, since it was no skin off their bones. The girls were more hesitant, but a tightened glare from Drew quickly squeezed a unanimous aye from the campers. "The ayes have it. I love a vote, it makes everything so fair, don't you think so?" Her cabin mates bobbed their hands like puppets on a string. Cassidy looked down to the ground looking hopelessly defeated.

Drew then came up to me and lead me back to the door with a hand on my lower back. "Now don't you worry bout a thing honey. I'll make sure Cassidy's ready by the Big House for your little trip. Bon voyage" she called out as she blew me a kiss and then closed the door. Then I heard Drew's grating voice from behind the door scolding everyone inside.

"Gods I hate that girl, she's mean" Shayla hissed under her breath as we walked away. And I wasn't sorry that I nodded my head in agreement with her.

* * *

Finally, we walked up to Ares Cabin. Shayla looked wide eyed as she stared at the intimidating place. Barbed wire ran around the perimeter along with trenches filled with rainwater and gods knows what else. A new decoration hung over the doorway, the freshly won banner from Capture the Flag, proudly displaying the cabin's sign. Shayla stayed behind as she shied away. "This is all you buddy, I'm not going in there. No way, no how".

I shook my head. Whatever. I marched up to the door and gave it a loud knock. Hopefully, someone would hear it over all the hissing and yelling going on in there. The door yanked away from me and Roxy's wise ass smirk looked up at me. "Newbie, how you be?" Roxy chuckled as she leaned against one side of the door frame.

"Oh gods, the Apollo kids didn't hit you with one of those rhyming curses did they?" I blurted out stupidly.

Roxanne glared at me as she crossed her arms, "sorry for answering the door. Next time I'll ignore you". She reached for the door ready to slam it in my face.

"No wait I'm sorry!" I spat out as quickly as I could. She tried to slam the door closed but I wedged my foot in between to keep it from closing. "Wow!" my voice cracked as she slammed her body into the door, trying to force it shut. "Wait! Prophecy, Ares kid, foot!" I cried in pain as my voice went higher and higher.

She glared at me and then gave a tired sigh as she let the door swing back in. "Alright Alex, let's hear it".

I walked in on an arm wrestling contest. The boys were cheering loudly on one side of the table for Maxwell, while a girl faced off against him, with the other girls jeering at the boys from the other side. Roxy strutted in with me behind her. Everyone looked up at me with suspicion. "Alright, fun's over, prophecy time".

Maxwell and the girl were in a seemingly perfect tie. With a groan, Maxwell immediately slammed the girl's fist into the table and looked up at me. The girl complained of not being given a fair chance; quickly shut up as her siblings glaring at her. "Alright" Maxwell cracked his knuckles. "Talk" he simply ordered.

I told them the prophecy and about my trip to Florida and how a son of Ares would be along for the ride. Immediately Roxanne erupted in outrage, "Ugh that's sexist. A daughter of Ares is just as capable as a son!"

"Yeah, but the prophecy does say a son, so dudes only need apply" Sherman Yang snickered.

"Ugh!" Roxy reached out ready to tenderize the guy, when Maxwell reached out and softly grabbed her shoulder. Her shoulders sagged as she sat down in a pout that actually made her look twelve.

"Mind if I come?" Maxwell requested.

"You? Why not any of us?"

Maxwell looked up at his brother and then the rest and then gave them an evil eye. When Drew gave hers it said, 'Cross me sugar and I'll make you strut around in terrible outfits'. When Maxwell gave his evil eye it said, 'did you really ask me that? Try asking me after I knock all of your teeth in and use you as my personal punching bag'. Immediately all the boys went silent.

"Uhm alright then. In that case, I'll see you at Big House in a bit. Just pack whatever you want for the trip. This could be a while". I replied.

Maxwell coolly nodded and held out his hand. I took it and shook it. As his hand slipped away, his thumb rubbed my palm and his eyes locked on mine. He smiled at me before it turned into a smirk he directed to his siblings. "Alright then, who wants to help send me off?" They all cheered and chuckled as they joked about him never coming back. I walked out, still feeling a bit weird about that handshake.

* * *

After everyone was packed, they were sent off to Big House, where we met up with Grover and made last minute preparation. Shayla had her bow and arrow with her, along with some extra twine and a frame. Cassidy walked up with Drew's hand nearly manacled to her wrist. She practically threw her at us like a sacrificial lamb and smiled before running for the hills. Maxwell raised a hand to wave and then stood next to me, but otherwise didn't acknowledge me.

Grover came walking out of Big House, with his crutches in one of his arms and wearing no pants or shoes. I told myself before I said anything stupid out-loud, Grover is a Satyr, half man, half goat, this is normal… Yep that's right.

He looked over the campers I brought with me with an appraising eye before he shrugged his shoulders and spoke to me, "alright then. If we're all set we'll head out for Florida right now".

He heard a resounding bunch of yeses and one tentative no that faded into the background.

Grover continued, "normally we'd have Argus drive us back into town in the van and head to Florida from there. However, as the van's back tires are still being checked over by the Hephaestus campers and Argus is bit…" Argus was sweating bullets next to him silently but shot him a glare that basically said, 'shut it'. "In any case, we'll be taking a trip on the Wild side instead" he smiled as he cracked a joke.

We followed him to the woods leaving camp behind us. I looked over my shoulder and saw Chiron sitting in a magical wheelchair. It made him seem weaker than if he were in centaur form; and that ghost white, solemn face he had as he stared at me didn't make me feel any better.

As we walked through the trees, we could hear the sound of stocked monsters growling, chirping or laughing in the distance. Cassidy cringed with each noise and for one particularly close roar; she jumped and hugged me tight and shrieked. I looked at her, seeing is she was just exaggerating, but I honestly thought she was terrified to be out here. She managed to catch her breath and once she realized she had her arms around me, whispered an embarrassed sorry and slipped off of me. Shayla rolled her eyes as Maxwell stared at me and then Cassidy and back as if saying 'really? We needed to bring her?'

Finally, Grover stopped at a tall evergreen tree filled with little blue berries. "Oh honey I'm home!" he called out to the trees.

The trunk of the tree shimmered for a moment before a young girl phased out from inside it. She had a very pale complexion, brown hair and a delicate-looking, green dress that looked as if it was woven from spider silk. She had a cute little smile and green eyes. I recognized what she was from Cat's journal, "you're a tree nymph".

She looked to me in surprise and then smiled. "Indeed I am, I am Juniper and this is my tree" she lovingly placed a hand on the trunk of the evergreen. She locked eyes with Grover and her smile faded to a flat line. "And where have you been? You were supposed to stop by days ago".

Grover bleated nervously as she locked eyes with her and sheepishly smiled. "I know, but I got side tracked picking up a new camper and then I had to talk with Chiron".

"The Wild and Chiron, they seem to get your attention first" Juniper grumbled before she threw her arms out, grabbed Grover and gave him a kiss on the lips. "I'm your girlfriend remember?"

Grover bleated as he turned red, "I remember" he smiled.

She smiled too, but then stared at us intruding on the moment, she sighed. "I take it this isn't a social call". Grover shook his head no and Juniper asked, "what can I do?"

"We need to use your tree to hitch a ride down to Florida. It would be a trip to take the train back down or a car with all of us. So I figured you could just send us tree hopping down the coast?"

Juniper sighed as she turned to her tree. "I don't know, wood nymphs use their trees to get away from lovesick satyrs. They won't like the idea of inviting a satyr inside. But I guess I can send you on your way". She tapped the bark of the tree which began glimmer with a green sparkle. "I won't be able to join you, I have to stay with my tree; but it can get you to New Jersey I think".

Grover hugged her close and kissed her on the cheek, "you're too good to me Juniper. Well come on let's get a move on". He walked right up to the tree and then faded right into it.

Maxwell shrugged his shoulder and then marched into the tree, vanishing out of sight.

Cassidy leaned in and inspected the tree. "Are you sure this thing's safe?" A big, meaty hand reached out from the trunk and yanked Cassidy into the tree as she shrieked "Aaah!".

"Go Maxwell" I replied. "Well better not keep them waiting, Maxwell doesn't seem patient". Me and Shayla walked into the tree and left the woods of Camp Half-Blood behind us.


	19. The Wild 101

**Chapter 18: The Wild 101**

We travelled down the coastline, hopping from tree to tree using the help of the local wood nymphs. Grover's arrival seemed to have a mixed reception. Sometimes, the neighborhood dryad would welcome us and chat up the satyr like he was the King of the Woods, like the nymph we bumped into in New Jersey. Other times, like the nymphs in Georgia, they would take one look at him, rip a stick from the ground, whack it in their hand like a riding crop and then start to chase after us, threatening to tan our hides. That last one was persistent, she chased us over a mile before we crashed into a live oak and winked out of sight.

"Grover" I complained after I managed to catch my breath. The others were barely doing any better and Shayla looked like she was about to keel over. "What's the deal with the nature spirits. Some of them seem to have it in for you".

Grover pulled off his hat and started twisting it in his hand. Sweat dripped from it as it got tighter. After he couldn't squeeze it anymore, he wrung it out and then plopped it back on his head, covering his horns. "Well, to be fair, some of them consider me an exile". I stared at him oddly, but the others didn't even bat an eye. I guessed it was old news. "Back when I was a searcher, I brought back some disturbing news from out in the Wild. The Council of Cloven Elders, my ex-bosses, didn't want to hear it and branded me a heretic before they got dismissed by Mr. D".

"What did you tell them?" I was almost afraid to hear what it was. It had to be pretty bad to get banished.

"I told them what they were thinking, but were too afraid to admit, 'that the God Pan, was dead'.

The words sent a chill down my spine. The breeze had stopped blowing, the birds paused in mid-song and the sun hid behind a cloud.

Then the moment faded and the sun peeked out, the wind picked up and the birds began to chirp again.

"He was the God of the Wild, his name once meant 'rustic' but in the end meant 'all'. But the old goat couldn't handle the strain of his kingdom being chopped to pieces by the hand of man. He grew weak and tired, he only hung on for as long as he did, because the nature spirits believed in him so strongly. But all we were doing was dragging out his end, making it painful, filling him with guilt and regret. I was the last to see him. He asked for me to let him go, and I did. And he faded away right in front of me".

"But the nature spirits are mean to Grover. Because their time to sit around and hope is over" Shayla rhymed. "They have to pick up the slack. If they want to get Nature back".

"It's not that simple" Grover looked nervous enough to eat a tin can. "Some of the nature spirits have agreed with me. That we need to do our own part and tend to the Wild. But many who thought like that, fell in the battle against the Titans. I lost a lot of good people, animals, and spirits. And you running into that Calydonian Boar is just more bad news".

"Why?" What can I say? I just love getting a heaping serving of bad news.

"The other satyrs, friends of mine, go out and collect half-bloods around the world. They find and escort them to camp. But lately I haven't seen any of them. At first, I thought they just lost track of the time. Nature spirits are very poor at judging time, has it been a day, a week, a month or more? Once I was asleep for two months straight".

Grover shuddered from the memory and brushed himself off. "Although to be fair, Morpheus put me under. I was lucky to have woken up, at all. I was covered by ivy; and Juniper was awfully worried about me. But anyway, I think the satyrs are being picked off by foul play by monster attacks. Worse yet, these monsters aren't your run of the mill variety. These are epic monsters. The Boar hasn't shown up since the first time it was summoned by Lady Artemis. She was insulted when a king of Caledon by the name Oeneus sacrificed to all of the Olympians except for her. So, she sent the beast out to ravage his countryside and ruin the festivities. It took practically all the big heroes of the day to bring that thing down".

"What, you think Artemis sent the boar out, after me?" I asked a bit worried. I mean having one of the Olympians holding a grudge against me was definitely not a good thing in my book.

Grover's eyes went wide as if the thought just came to him. He tried to play cool, "highly unlikely. Artemis spends most of her time hunting monsters, not sic'ing them out on people".

"Uh huh right" Maxwell replied in a suspicious tone. "She hates dudes. If she'd send a monster out on somebody, it be on a guy". Maxwell put two and two together and got four. A bit of a stretch sure, but it sounded convincing.

"Couldn't we just ask her?" I wondered out loud. "Send her a, what do you call it, 'Iris Message'".

"Doubt it. Communications have been down to err, circumstances beyond our control. And even if they weren't, she's usually off on hunts with her immortal hunters" Grover replied with a wistful look in his eyes. He focused himself and smacked himself on the face and mumbled to himself, 'think of Juniper'. "They drop off the face of the earth looking for monsters. Most of the time they're out of reach. When it comes to contact, their policy is: 'don't call us, we'll call you'".

"And then they beat the crap out of us at Capture the Flag every time they show up" Maxwell grumbled as he kicked a rock out of sight.

With that pleasant thought, everyone shushed up.

* * *

We made the final jump from somewhere in the Okefenokee Swamp in Georgia to just outside of Cocoa Beach, Florida. "Nice, I know where we are. We're just down the street from my place". We popped out of a palm tree and stepped out into a quiet intersection next to the beach. I could smell that salt spray blowing off of the breakwater and the ringing of a little bell from the door of the café across the street.

"So, now that we're here, what do we do?" I asked, not sure what we do on quests.

Grover shrugged his shoulders as he slipped on his fake feet and fit his arms into his crutches. "We scope out the scene. Gather information. Figure out where the monster might be hiding. Once we do, we go out and look for it".

"Yeah, now we're talking!" Maxwell replied in good cheer, while Cassidy looked a bit green as she listened to the waves in the distance.

"Well, they might sell some papers inside. You guys can go grab a snack to eat since we might be here a while. I'll walk along the beach and see if there's any sign of Sharkzilla around".

"You sure you don't want anyone with you?" Shayla asked as she put her hand discretely on her bow. "Wouldn't want you dead after all you've been though" Shayla added in the very blunt way that only little kids do.

"I'm sure" I replied, feeling just a bit nervous; before sucking it up and walking away from the others. Everyone else went into the café to grab some cinnamon buns, coffee and juice; while Grover grabbed a local paper and started skimming the headlines.

* * *

I walked down my street. The asphalt was cracking, little grasses and weeds peeked out here and there. Sea gulls walked across the hot black top squawking in an annoyed voice. I came to a small house with white siding and a mailbox with sides made to look like surfboards. Home sweet home.

I thought about ringing the door and saying hi to Mom, but I figured that would open up way too many questions like: 'why I was back so soon? Is everything okay? You didn't kill anybody did you…' Ehh better I just kept on walking. Although I decided to check on the mail, what the heck it's my house too.

Inside there were a couple of sealed return envelopes for bills and stuff. And then at the bottom of the pile there was a letter addressed to me at Camp Half-Blood. I tore it open and read over the letter inside.

 _Dear Alexander,_

 _I hope everything's going well up in New York at camp. I just got your letter the other day about your first day, it's great to hear that you're making new friends. Now you know I really don't like you fighting, but if you have to, make sure to show them who's boss!_

 _Any who, just be careful with hunting animals in the future. Pigs are intelligent and very deadly. But at least you had a nice luau and camp fire_ (I stretched some of the details, big whoop…)

 _There's no rush heading back Alex, have tons of fun while you're up there. Just let your old Mom know in advance when you're leaving so I can set up your train tickets. Oh and if you could do me a favor? Grab me some souvenirs while you're up there. It's New York after all. And take a ton of pictures seeing the sights while you're at it. I know you don't have a camera or a phone, join the twenty first century son but maybe Grover or one of the other campers will. I need some shots for the scrap book!_

 _Lots of kisses, Mom._

There was a kiss mark at the bottom of the paper. I smiled as I folded up the letter. "Will do Mom, will do" I quietly promised before I turned for the café.

* * *

I went inside and the little bell over the door went off. Everyone in my group looked up at me and Grover put the paper he was reading to the side as he discretely popped in a tin can. "Well we won't have to go far. Seems there's been reports of a large shark a mile south of here trolling the waters. The Coast Guard's been called out a few times but hasn't found a thing. People're saying it's a Megalodon. Hah mortals… if only they knew the truth" Grover laughed nervously.


	20. Sharkzillas in the Sun

**Chapter 19: Sharkzillas in the Sun**

So following Grover's example, we did the most natural thing teenagers would do in Florida when standing only a minute from the water: we hit the beach!

Of course we didn't come with swim suits and beach towels; so the best us guys could do, was strip off our shirts and hope our shorts didn't get too wet. The girls stayed out of the water and walked on the sand.

I took a look down Cocoa Beach in either direction and something immediately struck me: silence. I could actually hear the cracking of the waves on the breakwater and see the sand; usually out of sight under beachgoer's umbrellas and towels. "Guess the shark really has everybody scared". Even the surfers weren't hitting the curls. Which was a shame because the waves looked epic to me.

As I scoped the beach for any sign of Sharkzilla I took a moment to watch my new friends out and about. Shayla sat cross legged with a wooden frame in her hand. Her face was the image of intense concentration as her tongue stuck out a bit as she slowly weaved a long piece of sting and tightened it through the holes in the wood.

Cassidy also looked focused, but with a haunted look on her face. She stared out at the water as if it would randomly reach out, grab her and then drag her under. When a rogue wave crashed on the beach and lapped at her feet; she immediately turned tail and ran crying back on dry land as if zapped by electricity.

I stared at Maxwell as he shook his head at her and rolled his eyes as he carved a piece of driftwood with a hunting knife from his small arsenal. He mumbled 'pathetic' as he roughly carved out a notch in the wood, before going back to removing small splinters with delicate precision.

Grover walked around in the shallows, having ditched his crutches on dry land; since there was no one else in sight. Sharkzilla seemed to be a no show…

* * *

Until about a second later, when a dark torpedo lunged out of the water and latched onto Grover's backpack, dragging it, and Grover with it, into deeper water.

Grover bleated in a panic as me and Maxwell ran into the water after them, screaming at the giant shark. Cassidy looked petrified, her face turned bone white as if she had turned into marble.

The monster broke the surface and glared at us with a soulless, black eye as it gave a menacing grin. Its many knife-like teeth shining like steel in its jaws.

Maxwell grumbled with wide eyes as he quickly reached behind him and pulled out a spear and held it up defensively. "Gods, you weren't kidding about this thing. Sharkzilla makes a Great White look like a guppy". He hoped the shining bronze would make it wary of us; but I think it just made it ticked off.

I know it was stupid, but Grover was unarmed and hanging from the jaws of a killer monster, so spur of the moment I threw myself at it. "Hey lamebrain, over here!" Yeah taunting something that almost killed me before, real smart. "I'm the one you want, come catch me!"

Jaws roared as it shook its head and threw Grover into the water by the straps of his shredded backpack. Maxwell dove into the water and swam up to Grover as his head began to sink down under the water.

I raised my arms and called the water to me; lifting myself over the waves. I threw my weight forward and went flying. Almost crashing headfirst in front of me; but I managed to stay up. The shark growled as it torpedoed into the water after me.

Maxwell reached Grover and then held his head up over the water line. "Don't you die on me Goat Man!" Maxwell commanded as he awkwardly held him with one arm and treaded water with the other.

Grover groaned as he floated in the water and fitfully kicked everywhere, "Food. Akheilos! Fooood…" he complained his sleep.

"Stop kicking! You aren't making this any easier".

I looked back at the fish behind me, I taunted it, "Akheilos huh? Nice name, shame about your ugly mug! That's a face only a mother could love". Somehow, I think talking about its looks seemed to piss it off on a whole other level as it jumped out of the water in a charge and tried to crash down on top of me.

Shayla stood in the shallows with the wooden thing she was working on. I thought it was a bow, but now I could see it. Long strings on one end, getting shorter as you got to the other. It was a homemade lyre. Shayla gently strummed a lovely D chord and then began to play a lullaby.

Akheilos wanted nothing to do with it however and would have smashed her with his tail; if Cassidy hadn't run in out of nowhere and tackled Shayla down into the water. They both resurfaced gasping.

"Are you okay?" Cassidy asked as she quickly skimmed over Shayla; looking for bruises and bumps. Then her eye looked out at the shark; who returned a gaze with burning intensity.

Akheilos completely ignored me as he roared and charged toward Cassidy. She screamed as she latched onto Shayla's wrist and ran out of the water shrieking, "Gah, I hate the ocean!" The shark went charging through the water in blind rage. It was so focused on Cassidy that it didn't even realize it was in shallow water. Seizing an opportunity, I raised a hand and then swatted toward Akheilos.

The shark, in a panic, tried to turn around and swim back into deeper water; but I forced it to beach with a high wave. When the wave retreated, it left Sharkzilla high and dry.

Maxwell came ashore, dragging an unconscious Grover onto the sand. He walked up to Cassidy and gave her a displeased look. "Can you keep an eye on him?" He asked in way that sounded like he was scolding a toddler. She wilted under his attitude but nodded as she took Grover from the Son of Ares and slid the satyr comfortably down on the sand.

Behind her, Akheilos flapped around helplessly. How helpless could a hundred-foot-long shark be? But a fish out of water, even a shark, is pretty wimpy. Its gills fluttered weakly, straining to work in the air as it gasped pitifully. Cassidy couldn't ignore it, she slowly approached the shark, getting closer than any of us would. She looked almost, sorry for it.

It raised an eye to glare at her before weakly trying to lunge at her to chomp her. "Away from me Child of Cythereia. Were I in water instead of on land, I would swallow you whole for what your mother had done to me, jealous, vile shrew" he hissed in a dry, crackling voice.

Cassidy looked at the creature in shock, "how can you say that? My mother is the Goddess of Love and Beauty. She's a wonderful person who brings love and happiness into the lives of others. Who are you to judge, have you taken a look in the mirror?" She added harshly, that sad look on her face replaced by an angry one.

* * *

Grover managed to come to with a tin can placed under his nose by Maxwell. He whisked it away from the satyr before he could chomp into it, but it got him up. He walked right between Cassidy and the shark; stopping the argument before it could start. "Where can we find the Lady Artemis?" he asked bluntly.

Akheilos looked at Grover with annoyance, "and what would suggest that I even know the whereabouts of your wayward Goddess of the Hunt? Or would even wish to tell you?" He added in a raspy snort.

"Can it" I replied to Sharkzilla. "An oracle told us you knew. We can sit around all day while you play dumb. But keep in mind, it's noon, and you're a shark. I don't know about you but if raisins in the sun shrivel up, I bet a shark can too". I snarkily added as I crossed my arms and waited.

The shark gasped dryly, "impertinent child, I should have eaten you before those infernal servants of Delphin returned. Fine, I will divulge what you wish to know. Just give me a portion of water. I beg of thee…" he hissed pitifully and now in pain.

I uncrossed my arms and gestured with my fingers at the ocean to come to me. A wave splashed over the sand and then washed over Akheilos, wetting his gills and giving his dull grey skin a shiny black color. His crackly voice became smooth, deep and strong. He replied with a glare set at Cassidy, "you will find the huntress in the depths of the ever-changing tunnels, that intersect just beneath the skin of the world".

Grover bleated nervously as his knobby knees started clacking together, "the Labyrinth?" He asked in a hesitant voice.

"Aye, that be the place" the Shark replied. "Creatures stir from the Mist that haven't walked the earth in ages. Since even before my time…" Akheilos murmured to himself. He glared toward me and flicked his tail as if in stress. "I have told you what you wished to hear. Release me back into the ocean's embrace. If you would be so kind" he asked in a demanding way. He added under its breath, "she is the only mistress who will have me now…"

I looked toward Grover and asked with my eyes, 'should I?" Grover shrugged his shoulders. I raised a hand and gestured it to me, calling the water out. The wave reached under and then lifted the shark up, carrying it back into the water. It leered at Cassidy before its black eyes sunk under the waves and it was gone.


	21. Let's Have a PARTY!

**Chapter 20: Let's have a PARTY!**

As we walked away from the beach, Grover quietly stewed. Ever since he figured out that Artemis was down in the Labyrinth, whatever that is, he hasn't been too happy. If the five tin cans were anything to go, he was downright nervous.

He walked off to the side to send an Iris message back to camp relaying the news we found out to Chiron. He quickly finished up, letting go of the fountain's button and cutting the connection when it ran dry.

He walked back toward us with a conflicted look on his face. "I can't do it, not again" he mumbled to us in quiet, certain voice. "I went down there once scared out of my wits. I barely survived the last time. If it weren't for Tyson, Percy and Annabeth… I don't even want to think about it" he bleated as he shook his head, trying to shake off the feeling.

"Is it that bad?" I asked. It couldn't possibly be that bad.

Maxwell tightened his eyes as he crossed his arms. "Been down there once since they reopened the place after Daedalus died. It's worse than anything you can imagine. It can make a person, show them their greatest fears and weaknesses. It can make a person grow" he began before he added in a dark tone. "Or it can crush his spirit and shatter his mind".

"Sounds inviting, and we have to go down there?"

Grover shuddered at the thought. "If we want to confront Artemis, or at least talk to her, we have to track her down. But like I said. I'm not going down there. Besides" he added with a sigh of relief. "I'm not the best qualified. Rachel has clear sight. She can see through the Mist unlike most people. She can avoid the traps, get you through as quickly and painlessly as possible".

"But Rachel's back in camp" I added as I kicked a pebble out of the road. "Are we going to have to go through the nymph trees again? They didn't look so happy about it the first time we passed through. I can't imagine they'll be any happier to see us so soon". The rest of the campers nodded along with me.

Grover sighed reluctantly as he nodded with us, "agreed. Which is why I asked Chiron to send us a ride. He has some, relatives down here" he added a bit on edge.

"Oh cool, more centaurs, what are they like? Are they all serious like Chiron?"

Everyone had wide eyes as they twiddled their thumbs. They looked at Grover like he did something really dumb, like call an unwanted relative to the fun. "You'll see" Grover replied vaguely.

* * *

It wasn't all that long before the pebbles on the asphalt started jumping by themselves. I could hear the sound of hooves, as if a stampede was racing toward us. And then I saw them. They looked like strangest bunch of half men/horses I'd ever seen. Then again, I've only met Chiron, but I started to figure out that Chiron was more the exception than the norm among his family.

While Chiron was quiet, contemplative and serious, the guys in front of me were rowdy, loud and looked like they just wanted to have fun. They all had on tie dye shirts covered in a random kaleidoscope of colors with the words 'Party Ponies: Miami Chapter' in bold black letters on the front.

Some of the guys had giant number one gloves on their hands, which they waved about in everyone's faces. Some guys had glasses with slinky eyeballs flying all over the place as they ran around. Other guys had bows at the ready with arrows tipped with plungers at the ends. They bumped into each other, into their sides or knocking heads together and shouting off together 'Dude!'

I looked at the horde of centaurs with a wide, disbelieving eye. I promised that nothing would surprise me anymore, but once again, surprised! "Uhm Grover, you sure these guys are checked out? They seem a bit…"

"Wahoo!" One guy yelled as he reared up on two legs and pumped his fist. "Tally ho!" Another cheered as two centaurs raced past us, trying to out speed the other in a circular track.

"Off the walls" I finished in an uncertain voice.

"It's cool guys, the Party Ponies are here to give us a RIDE!" he ended in a yell to get the centaurs' attention. "To camp" he added calmly and with a tired sigh.

The centaurs looked a bit hesitant at us. "Ride? I thought we were hitting a party in Cocoa Beach? That's what Chiron told us".

I thought on my feet, I probably should have kept my mouth shut but we needed a ride. One good lie deserves another. "Sorry about that guys, but the party's back at camp. Chiron just wanted you to pick us up on the way up. You think that's okay?"

The centaurs mumbled among themselves, Grover looked at me with a worried face, "Alex, we're not supposed to have the centaurs visit camp, it never ends well".

"Toga party? Root Beer?" They asked as if stating terms.

"Sure! Why not, it's going to be a blast. Root Beer for everyone!" I won the horse men over with the foamy drink. They immediately grabbed us, placed us on their backs and tore the ground in a butt pounding cantor.

We raced straight for a brick wall. I thought were going to end up like giant flies under a flyswatter but suddenly the world around us seemed to slow to a crawl.

"Hold on little man, we're going for a trip" he told me in a hippie-like voice. I watched the trees, buildings and people get stretched out around me.

* * *

Then after no time at all, we broke back into the real world. Everything stopped stretching around us and me, the campers and the centaurs found ourselves right in the middle of the common green at camp. "How?" My mind stopped working as I started taking everything in. We must have jumped from Cocoa Beach to Long Island in a snap.

The centaurs put us down on the ground before rearing up on their back legs and yelling out, "PARTY!"

All the campers came out, either spilling out of their cabins or running back from the woods and the arena. The centaurs put down jukeboxes and turned them up and blasted out 'Shake that Groove Thing' by Peaches and Herb and started bumping their chests, shaking their horse's bottoms and spinning like tops.

One of the centaurs came back from Hermes Cabin after it looked like he looted the place. In one hand he had a bunch of togas; and in the other he had a giant keg of root beer. Where the heck did Hermes Cabin even get a keg of root beer? "Root Beer?" the centaur asked as he showed off the keg to his brothers.

They let out a resounding cheer, "Root Beer!" They poured themselves mugs of the stuff. Some of the impatient guys just lifted the whole keg above their heads and guzzled straight from the tap while others chanted, "chug, chug, chug!" It looked as if the common green had turned into a giant college frat party.

"What is going on here?" Chiron cantored down from Big House. He couldn't get his brothers to calm down and turned his attention to us. "Well? Why is there a party going on right in the middle of camp? Grover, don't you know the only party animals worse than my brothers are the Maenads!"

"Sorry, my fault" I fessed up. "It was the only way to convince them to drop us off at camp. Although to be fair, you lied and told them there was a party at Cocoa Beach".

Chiron raised a finger and began to counter me and then stopped. His shoulders sagged tiredly as he began to assess the damage. "Quite right. Well nothing to be done about it now. They'll just have to party themselves out before they'll leave. Hopefully in the process they don't leave the camp in much disarray…"

"Come on Chiron you old stuck-up party pooper, shake your groove thing!" A palomino centaur belted as he bumped into Chiron and downed a mug of root beer before cantering off.

Chiron sighed from embarrassment, "I hope your quest was a success?"

"Yep, found out where Artemis is. Somewhere down in the Labyrinth!" I replied loudly trying to be heard over the party.

Chiron shuddered, "most distressing, but nothing to be done. You and the rest will have to head down there soon enough and approach Lady Artemis and ask her about the recent rise in monster activity". He turned his gaze to Grover, who shuddered like a leaf and stared intently at the cliffs in the woods. Chiron could read him loud and clear. "We will send you on your way. Rachel will lead you down into the Labyrinth the day after tomorrow".

Grover sighed with a tired smile of gratitude on his face before he walked off. "Try to get some rest tonight, you'll have to gather your strength". A bunch of centaurs and kids from Hermes Cabin were whooping with a song belting from the juke box. "Or at least try to" Chiron added lamely before walking off.

I'll admit we didn't get that much sleep that night. We danced, partied, ate and drank so much, I thought we'd explode and collapse right on the common green. I barely remembered breaking away from the crowd and heading back to my cabin to slip into a bed and try to get some sleep.


	22. Beware Unmarked Packages

**Chapter 21: Beware Unmarked Packages**

By the crack of dawn, everyone had managed to party themselves out, even the centaurs were conked out on the common green. Cassidy, attempting to heed Chiron's advice turned in early while all of her siblings were out having a good time. She had been pleasantly dozing when a loud snore belted into the air.

"Kraah Ko Kooh!" Cassidy lurched up in her bed and looked next to her. Drew lay on her back, arms and legs splayed out with her blanket kicked off. Her head lay on its side, her wide open mouth drooling while she snored like a tractor.

Cassidy got up and fixed up her bed, knowing she'd never be able to fall back asleep with Drew. She got herself dressed in a stylish set of pink and yellow jogging clothes and stepped out for a bit of fresh air.

As she strolled about, she took a deep breath and let it out slowly with a contented sigh. She could enjoy the peace and quiet with only herself while everyone else was still slumbering away.

She made her way up the hill, up to Thalia's tree from where she could get a good look around. The giant pine tree seemed to sparkle as the morning sun flickered through its branches. The Golden Fleece hung from the lowest branch; filling the air with an uplifting feeling of life. Peleus, the mighty guard dragon, was tenderly wrapped around the trunk of the tree. His nostrils let out a puff of smoke every once in a while.

Cassidy turned around and took in the whole camp tinted gold by the sun under a light blue sky. Beautiful enough to take her breath away.

She could have stared for hours if she didn't hear a little rustling next to her. She looked down and saw a little cardboard box someone had just left outside of camp.

The box shook again with a little cry coming from inside. Cassidy shrugged her shoulders as she approached it. She tenderly opened it up, looked inside and gushed at the sight.

Inside of the box was a little bunny rabbit with a golden fur coat and golden eyes. It looked up at her with its big peepers and sniffled as it shuddered inside the box as if it were cold.

"Aww" Cassidy cooed as she reached inside and brought the rabbit eye level with her. Its fur felt softer than any of the cashmere shirts she owned, and looked far cuter too. "Aren't you precious?" she asked the bunny as she snuggled her face into it. The bunny's nose twitched and its whiskers popped up and down as it stared at her.

She looked away from the bunny, gazing deep into the woods and then back at camp, but there was no one around for miles. She gave the bunny a little frown as she cuddled it close. "Who would leave a poor, little bunny like you alone in the middle of the woods? Well don't you worry, you can come with me".

She walked back through the barrier with bunny in hand as she headed back to her cabin.

* * *

Cassidy thought that she might be the only one up at this point; but as soon as she closed the door, almost of her sibling's eyes were on here. Drew was dead to the world, thankfully, but her other sibling's eyes zooned right on her bunny.

"OMGs!" One of her sisters loudly whispered as she brought a hand up to cover her face. "Isn't that cute? Where did you find it?"

Cassidy shrank under all the attention she got. She hid the bunny defensively from their peering eyes. "Someone left it alone in a cardboard box". The girls all gasped as they tutted to themselves and pouted at the thought.

"That's horrid. Can I hold her?" One of the girls asked and held out her hands expectantly.

"Well, alright, just be careful. I think she scares easy" Cassidy gently warned as she held out the bunny. The girls had almost exchanged the bunny when a loud sneeze rocked the cabin.

"Ahh chuu! Drew slowly rose onto her butt in bed. She looked out in all directions leery eyed. Her face looked red as she rubbed at her skin like it was covered in poison ivy. Her eyes looked watery as tears ran down her face and she sniffled. "Oh Gods, I feel miserable" she sounded completely congested as she hacked and slammed her chest with her hand.

She looked around, following the eyes toward Cassidy and then she focused her gaze on the bunny. "Whaah!" Drew screamed at the top of her lungs at the sight. The bunny's ears perked up and then it bolted out of Cassidy's loose grip and hopped down to the floor. Drew shrieked as she bunched up her blanket and covered herself up to her neck. "Who let that flea-infested varmint in here? I hate rodents! I'm allergic to them…" Drew's eyes began to close as she took a deep breath and the exploded with a monstrous sneeze.

Everyone stood completely still as the bunny hopped around on the floor in a panic over the noise. "Well don't just stand there! Get that bunny out of here!"

Drew's charm speak made everyone jump into action. The boys charged out of their beds and attempted to corral the bunny into a corner; but when one of them reached down to grab it; the bunny hopped over his back and spring boarded to another part to the room.

The girls tried to gently coax it with quiet words but their jerky motions just scared it into hopping from one counter to the next. Perfume bottles shattered on the floor, sheets got ruffled up as the bunny bounced around.

Just when it seemed like the girls managed to corner it; the rabbit hopped back onto a bed, onto the headboard, on top of a cabinet and then hurled itself at a cracked open window. The bunny squirmed for a few seconds before it weaseled through and escaped out the other side.

"Good riddance!" Drew scolded at the window before she focused her burning glare at Cassidy. The redness faded from Drew's face as her eyes stopped tearing, but the damage was already done; her mascara and blush was running down her face like tacky paint.

"Cassidy! You are so going to get it". Drew threw her blanket to the floor as she glared down at the young girl. "Shoes of shame, that's all you'll wear all day" her siblings all cringed at the claim. Cassidy managed to keep her face level though. "You will clean this cabin from top to bottom over the mess you made bringing that pest in here. You'll certainly be organizing my sink and toiletries". The wind tapered out of Drew's sails when she felt her face and looked down at her blackened finger.

"But first I need to re-apply my make up" Drew tearfully added as she bolted for the bathroom and locked herself in; leaving Cassidy and her siblings without a chance to even use the toilets or take showers.


	23. Cute and Deadly

**Chapter 22: Cute and Deadly**

Man what a headache I had as I slowly hobbled out of bed and went for a shower. I felt like someone was using my head as a maraca and my brain was all shaken up. But once the water started pelting me, the tiredness and bad feeling washed away and I managed to open my eyes. "Gods, never going to a party hosted by the Party Ponies ever again".

By the time I got dressed and secured my sword to my belt I was wide awake. I walked outside and saw a little bunny staring up at me. Its fur was gold like the sun and its eyes simmered like crystal. It hopped off and vanished into the strawberry patches.

"Weird" I thought out loud. "Never seen a bunny in camp before. Oh well" I shrugged my shoulders and walked down the common green. I thought I might bump into Shayla outside, but it seemed like she found something better to do. Then I remembered Cassidy. She jumped into the water and got Shay out of harm's way yesterday and I never even thanked her. And she looked so terrified of the water. It must have taken guts for her to get in there.

I made my mind to head over to Aphrodite Cabin to thank her; even though I might have run into Drew and the rest of her shallow siblings.

When I got there I noticed all the windows were wide open, along with the door. The sound of someone groaning as wood screeched against wood rang from inside.

I knocked on the frame of the door and took a peek. "Cassidy? Hello? Anybody home?"

Cassidy grunted, "I'm here" as she put all her effort in shimmying one of the beds. I came right in and gave it a shove and easily pushed it to the other wall. She huffed tiredly as she swiped her forehead of sweat and crashed on the bed for a second. "Oh Alex. Hi." She replied with a gasp between each short sentence. "Thanks".

"No prob" I replied as I sat down next to her. "Why are you moving your siblings' beds, room makeover?"

"Hardly" she sighed completely exhausted. "Punishment duty. Have to clean up the cabin. Move the beds and clean under them. Fix up the bathroom. Fun stuff".

"Ouch, sorry about that" I replied as I rubbed the back of my neck. "I just came by to say thanks".

She slowly got up even though she was exhausted and fixed an eye on me. "For what?"

"For keeping an eye on Shayla yesterday. It was good you were there".

Cassidy shuddered from the memory, "I don't think you even needed me there. Prophecy aside, I was completely useless. I shouldn't have even been there, 'a lady of doves walks the shore with dread' that sounds like me. Useless me".

"Don't let Maxwell get to you" I patted her on the shoulder. "He's a bit angtsy, but he's a good guy. He went in after Grover; just like you with Shayla. We needed you there".

"You're sweet really" she gave a small half grin which immediately flat-lined. "Maybe too sweet, it's part of the reason I'm in this mess. I found a box left by the edge of camp and it had a bunny inside. I brought it back to the cabin and Drew went ballistic. She scared it off and it made a mess in the panic and now it's out there all alone while I'm stuck doing clean up duty".

"I'm sure it's fine" I began when I stared at the doorway. "Speaking of which, isn't that it?" I asked as I pointed at it. The golden bunny hopped into the cabin and bounced right up to us, twitching its nose and whiskers. Its golden eyes shined like citrines. Then another bunny hopped in looking just like the first except with silver eyes. "I thought you said there was only one?"

"There was" Cassidy insisted as the bunnies hopped inside and hid under a bed. "Oh no you don't" Cassidy bolted up and ran to the bed. "You need to get out of there right now. If Drew sees you two, she's going to go ballistic".

As Cassidy crouched down to the ground and ducked under the bed frame I noticed her shoes. "Uhm fancy footwear Cassie".

She sighed as she continued looking under the bed, the black orthopedic shoes squeaked as she rubbed them on the floor. "Drew's idea of a punishment, shoes of shame. Apparently they don't go with anything, so she uses them as a threat to keep my siblings in line. Personally they're much more comfortable than some of the heels she makes us wear. Now THAT'S punishment" she asserted.

I smiled at Cassie's words. She was a bit delicate, but she had a good heart and she wasn't a floozy or idiot like her siblings. She gasped as she fell back on her butt. Immediately the bunny with gold eyes and then silver eyes bolted out, followed by two more bunnies with silver eyes. "I thought there were only two under there?"

"I don't know" Cassidy grumbled as she got up. "I looked under the bed and then poof, there were four".

I looked out the door nervously, "something weird is going on here".

* * *

"Hey Katie, pass me the hoe will you? I need to get these weeds out of the rows!" Ty shouted up to the roof of Demeter Cabin as he stood in the middle of his cabbages.

"In a minute Ty, I need to tend to my wheat plants on the roof. We need to make sure the grass is in tip top shape if we want a good harvest of grain and a cool summer in the cabin. The grass will keep the sun from cooking the roof".

"Aww come on Gardner!" Ty pouted as he stamped his foot. "Just five minutes, then you can have it back". He was about to grumble when a wooden pole with a flat metal end came hurtling down from above, almost hitting the little guy in the head. "Oi watch it you sorry sod, you almost hit me with that thing".

"What a shame" Katie replied with a cheeky grin. Ty wasn't sure what was a shame: that she missed him or almost hit him".

"Meanie!" Ty shouted at the roof. He looked to the ground about to hack out a dandelion when he noticed a bunny, with silver eyes, eating the cabbages, his cabbages. "Katie!" he belted at the top of his lungs.

"What?" She asked as she peered over the edge of the roof.

"There's a rabbit eating me cabbages!" Ty exploded in a Scottish accent, it only got that way when Ty got really flustered. He tried to spook off the pest, but it ignored him and kept on chewing.

Katie's eyes went wide. There really was a bunny in his cabbages. She grabbed the fire pole by the edge of the roof and slid down it. She walked up to Ty and then bent down to take a closer look at the rabbit. "Well hello little pest. How did you get in here?"

"I don't care, it's eating me cabbages" Ty whined as he shook her anxiously.

"Okay okay" she tried to calm Ty down. "Give me a second, I can handle this. It's just a bunny". She reached forward and grabbed the rabbit by the scruff of its neck. It was perfectly tame as it stared at her in the eye and twitched its nose. "How odd, it should be kicking and crying by now".

"Katie!" Ty belted again. "There's another one in the carrot patch".

Katie walked over and saw that there was indeed another golden bunny with silver eyes. An exact match for the first. She reached down and grabbed that one by the scruff. Then she looked up and realized at across the vegetable garden, there were at least eight more other rabbits munching their way through the produce. "Ugh Houston, I think we have a problem…"

* * *

Me and Cassidy came strolling down the common green after everything was fixed up back at her place. We were heading for lunch when I heard a big commotion coming from Hermes Cabin. The sounds of people shouting, cabinets falling and things breaking rang out when the doors were thrown open.

One by one, a line of hopping bunnies came leapfrogging out of the cabin, with a strawberry in their mouths. We must have counted over thirty of them before they had run out and vanished into the strawberry patch. Conner and Travis Stoll hung out the door raising fists and shouted at the bunnies. "And don't come back… Or you'll regret it".

We headed for them, "are you guys okay?"

"We've been robbed!" Travis shouted in disbelief.

Connor shook his head in agreement, "a looting. We were all just minding our business about to feast on some strawberries we picked earlier when a mob of rabbits swarmed through the window. They bounced around all over the place and ran off with the berries. All of them" he added in grief.

"They were like veggie piranhas or something" Travis chimed in. "They only left when everything was gone".

Cassidy looked at me with a worried look. She was chewing her lower lip in nervousness. "Okay, we should probably tell Chiron about this".

* * *

Chiron listened quietly as Cassidy told her story about the box she opened and the bunny in it. About Drew and how it escaped, and how more bunnies seemed to be cropping up everywhere. As if that weren't bad enough, Katie Gardner came charging in looking murderous. Apparently there wasn't single vegetable left in the Demeter Garden and their cabin was stripped of every blade of grass.

Chiron looked a bit concerned as he turned to the open window when a rabbit hopped in. It stared up at all of us with its golden eyes. Chiron snorted in annoyance. "Lepus" he called the bunny. As if hearing the name, more rabbits hopped over the windowsill and flooded the room; ravaging the wall as they devoured the grape plants: fruit, leaves and flowers; leaving only stumps in their place.

I had a horrible feeling Mr. D was not going to be a happy camper when he saw what the rabbits did to his vines.

"Be gone vermin!" He clopped his hooves and startled the rabbits out of the room, leaving only a few half-munched grape leaves on the wall.

"What's Lepus?" I asked in confusion.

Chiron huffed as he collapsed into his wheelchair. "Lepus, the Hare. In the old days there was an island in the Aegean named Leros. It was full of grain but no game. The people asked the gods to intervene and so delivered Lepus. A rabbit who could procreate on her own. At first the townspeople were happy with the rabbits but they soon grew too numerous. They stripped the island of its life and the people almost starved".

"How did they stop it?" I asked.

Chiron rubbed his head as he thought to himself before he groaned. "I do not remember. It is an old story".

"Chiron, we got a situation outside" Maxwell interrupted as he barged into the meeting with a spear in hand. "You got to see this".

We all followed after him. I looked around and it looked like a desert. The grass on the common green was cropped all the way down to the roots. The Demeter gardens didn't even have a single carrot or beet in the ground. And don't even start me on the strawberry patches. Forget no berries, not a flower or leaf was left in the ground.

But the worst part of all was up on the hill. Peleus spouted fire like a blow torch, trying to keep the rabbits at bay. But somehow, they were climbing on the dragon and then hopping up the branches and nibbling on Thalia's tree. The boundary around camp seemed to flicker as the Golden Fleece failed to keep up with the damage the Lepus Rabbits were causing.

"Uh that's bad isn't it?" I asked stupidly.

Everyone nodded as tree began to look more and more bare.


	24. Saved by an Angel

**Chapter 23: Saved by an Angel**

Now if you didn't know, that tree up on the hill isn't just for show. At one point, it was a camper, named Thalia, who died to save her friends. And her father, the almighty Zeus, came down and transformed what was left of her into a tree. Her spirit continued to defend the camp, even in its new form.

Eventually she was brought back to life and separated from the tree using the power of the Golden Fleece. Now Thalia was off trekking around the world with the Hunters of Artemis, while the tree continued protecting our camp.

Problem was, the tree actually had to be alive to keep doing its job. The last time the tree almost died from poison, monsters swarmed the place daily. I wasn't around for that but based on what everyone's been saying; that might be a good thing.

But now these stupid rabbits were stripping the tree of all of its leaves and if we didn't do something soon, we'll be in a lot of trouble.

We charged for the tree, loudly screaming to see if we could scare them off. They just stared at us for a moment before focusing back on their chewing.

"Archers, at the ready" Will called out, as all the Apollo kids raised their bows and notched an arrow. "Fire at will". Twenty golden arrows went streaking through the air, up into the tree; striking the rabbits. They instantly burst into puffs of golden dust.

But just soon as the rabbits were struck down, reinforcements would come hungrily charging from somewhere else in camp.

I looked around at the campers as they brought down their knives and swords on the harmless rabbits. This was stupid, we were being done in by bunnies. For every rabbit that was struck down, two more seemed to pop out of a tunnel or from one of the cabins. They were truly breeding like rabbits, and I wasn't sure we could keep up with their numbers for much longer.

And all the while the stately statue, the Athena Parthenos, sat pretty as a postage stamp with not so much as laser beam eyes or even a mild scolding for the bunnies…

* * *

Will notched three arrows in his bow and let them loose, striking down three rabbits. He reached back to his quiver but found it empty. "Crap!" He shouted to himself. He took a look around and saw most of his siblings were in a similar boat. He frowned as he brought his hands up like megaphone over his mouth and shouted over the crashing and bashing of weapons and fire. "Nico! Get your butt back to camp right now!"

In an instant a young guy burst from the shady side of a cabin. He shook off his nausea and walked right to Will when he saw him. His hair was long and black, he had an aviator jacket and pale white skin. The black iron sword next to his legs made a nervous feeling form in the pit of my stomach. Nico came up to Will and gave him a quick peck on both cheeks and gave a half grin.

"You rang?" Nico asked.

Will threw his arms in exasperation, "Bunnies, Overboard, Thalia's Tree, Bad".

I honestly don't know how Nico made any sense of that, but he shrugged his shoulders and rolled up his sleeves. "Alright then, time for some pest control". He raised his hands and the earth began to shake all around us. Skeletons seemed pop out of the ground like daisies with spear in hand. They looked at Nico awaiting orders. The guy pointed out at the horde of rabbits and commanded, "Sic 'em".

The skeletons marched off in unison piercing the Lepus hares like they were making shish kabobs. Nico swiped his hand across the field, "drag them down!" he commanded the ground. I watched in amazement as a bunny sat on the ground before a bony hand rose up behind it and grabbed it. It let loose a shrill shriek before it got yanked down into the earth and swallowed up.

Bunnies everywhere vanished out of sight. But despite all of the rabbits being wiped out, just as many came spilling out from the woods. Nico started to sag under the strain. Will came up next to him and offered him an arm and held him up. "I can't keep this up for much longer Solace. Where did they all come from?"

"I don't know, but we need to keep them from the tree" Will looked at it with worry.

Nico groaned as he raised a hand, "I can do that". He snapped his fingers and the hill that Thalia's tree stood on suddenly shuddered. Four giant cracks wormed their way around it, splitting Peleus and the tree from the rest of camp. Nico intently gazed at the hill as it rose from the ground and the cracks grew wider, until it was ten feet wide all the way around like a giant, empty moat.

Harpies from the cabin cleanup crew came swooping in and picked off the few rabbits on the tree and within minutes the tree was pest free. The bunnies swarmed the edge; looking down at the deep ravine in front of them. Like lemmings they threw themselves over the edge and crashed all the way down to the bottom a hundred feet down.

But rather than stop, the bunnies flooded over the edge, slowly filling the ravine and turning it into a fuzzy, boiling river.

"Oh gods, those are some determined rabbits" Nico grumbled as he fainted in Will's arms. Will brought his hand under the new guy's butt and carried him off to the infirmary. I ran up to them and asked, "who's that?"

Will looked tense as he cradled the young guy. "Nico di Angelo, Son of Hades. My boyfriend".

I looked surprised as my eye kept drifting between Will and the new guy all the way to the Big House.

* * *

We had retreated to the infirmary where Nico was resting in bed under Will's careful watch, while completely dead to the world. Me and the rest of my friends had a war council to discuss our options.

"So what are we going to do guys?" I asked hoping for some ideas.

Will offered current status, "well Nico has bought us some time. The ravine will keep the rabbits from crossing over and striping the tree. The Golden Fleece is working its magic and healing all the damage done to the tree so far. But the rabbits are swarming the island, eventually they'll fill the crack all the way to the top and then they'll get to the tree".

Maxwell grumbled, "Hate to admit it, but we can't keep going on like this. We manage to wipe out a wave of them; only for another to come crashing in behind it. Their numbers look bottomless".

Cassidy mumbled to herself, "maybe we're approaching the problem from the wrong direction".

Maxwell flared up as he stopped notching his wood with a knife and crossed his arms. "It's your fault we're in this mess in the first place. If you didn't go opening that box and bringing that bunny in here. We'd be fine!"

"How was I supposed to know this was going to happen. It looked afraid and lonely and abandoned in that box. Forgive me for having a heart!" Cassidy yelled as she broke from his gaze and stared out the window. Lepus certainly couldn't be lonely anymore. Just outside the sill, ten golden bunnies with silver eyes twitched their noses watching us.

"Silver eyes" Cassidy mumbled to herself.

"What about silver, they all have silver eyes" Shayla grumbled.

"No" I interrupted. "Not all of them. One of them has golden eyes".

"The original Lepus rabbit" Cassidy agreed. "If we can find the original one, maybe we can do something about all the others, or at least stop more of them from being made".

"Sounds as good a plan as any. But how are we going to find one bunny in all that?" Nico blurted out tiredly as looked out the window. Will came up to him and made sure he was doing alright.

"Leave that to me" Cassidy smiled naughtily as she led them out of the infirmary.

* * *

She marched up to the door of her cabin and rapped on it earnestly before she got reply. "Go away!" Drew shrieked from inside. "No way I'm letting any rodents in here. This is a no-bunny zone!"

"Drew unlock this door right now or so help me" Cassidy began to threaten when her eye caught a delicate dress hanging from the clothes line. "Oh my gods, those rabbits are eating that pink sheer Chanel dress…" she gasped in exaggeration.

The door threw itself open as Drew charged out like a raging bull. "My dress! Mother gave that to me little pests!" She immediately stopped shouting when she saw that her dress was still blowing in the wind, completely fine.

Cassidy latched onto Drew while she was surprised and told her, "Got you, now you're going to help us find that rabbit you scared off".

"But how?!" Drew whined as she tried to get away. "I hate rodents, I'm allergic to them. I break out in hives…"

"Don't care" Cassidy harshly replied. "Actually I'm counting on that". She reached down and grabbed one of the bunnies with silver eyes and brought it right up to Drew. She whimpered as the fur touched her, but her eyes didn't start tearing, and her skin wasn't itchy.

"Huh?"

"I thought so" Cassidy replied. "The silver-eyed ones are clones. They're not like the original. They don't make Drew break out from allergies".

The idea lit up in my mind. "Oh that's brilliant Cassidy. You're going to use Drew as a Lepus detector. When she gets close Lepus".

"She'll know it" Cassidy replied as she started dragging Drew through camp.

* * *

We looked for any sign of the original Lepus; however, all we could find were the clones, swarming all over the place and eating whatever little bit of green they could find.

We didn't get a sign until we turned toward the beach. Drew started sniffling and then gave a polite sneeze. Her eyes went wide as she started turning around. "Well nothing this way except for the water".

"Oh no you don't" Cassidy blocked her escape. "That was the first peep we heard out of you. Lepus has to be close by".

"But the water" Drew stated desperately, trying to get Cassidy to hesitate.

She shook herself harshly as she guided an extremely hesitant Drew to the beach. "Don't care, first we find that bunny, then I'll worry about the water".

We walked to the waters of the Long Island Sound and standing all by itself was the rabbit with the golden eyes, Lepus. "Alright we found it" Drew complained as her eyes watered and her face turned red under her blush. "Can I go now?"

Cassidy groaned as she let go of Drew who then ran all the way back to the cabins. "Alright, now what do we do?"

"Hah" Maxwell guffawed as he raised his big hands up and slowly approached the rabbit. "We catch it" he replied as he throttled toward the bunny.

Its ears perked up and it bounced away, leaving an identical copy with silver eyes where it stood. "Got it!" Maxwell cheered as he held up the clone. He looked it in the eye and saw its silver peepers. "What?" He complained in annoyance. Lepus crouched on a log, scratching the back of its head with its leg.

Uhh! He dropped the bunny in his hand like an unwanted toy and stomped toward Lepus. "Grab that bunny!" He commanded as all of us charged into action.

Not that it was any good. Maxwell was too slow to catch the rabbit as it hopped around leaving doppelgangers. Shayla tried sniping it off with an arrow but Lepus managed to leap out of harm's way every time as if it could predict the arrows. I tried calling it, but unlike a puppy, it had no interest in walking up toward me.

Cassidy sat down low to the ground. She had her arms close to her, making her seem as small as possible. She had her hands open and just waited. Lepus bounced around like a pinball before running right toward Cassidy and into the safety of her arms. "There we are" Cassidy tenderly cooed as she picked up the rabbit and held it close and tight. "No more causing trouble little girl".

"How did you do that?" I asked.

"It liked me when we first met. And it doesn't like noise. That's why it ran off to the woods and hid out here".

"Well we got the original, but what do we do with all the clones?" I asked as I watched the silver eyed bunnies hop toward Thalia's tree.

"I have an idea" Nico tiredly replied as he rubbed his hands together.

* * *

We stood at the edge of the ravine. It looked as if all the bunnies had made the plunge down into the gulch, but there weren't enough to climb out and pile on top of each other to get up to the tree.

Nico tiredly stared at the crack in the earth and imagined the bottom falling out. In an instant, thousands if not millions of bunnies were crashing down into the ground and falling straight into Tartarus.

Cassidy looked a bit sad to see all those bunnies get flushed down into the ground, but it had to be done. Then Nico brought his hands down and the hill sank back into the earth and the cracks in the ground healed like a jagged scar.

Nico slumped to the ground, while Will helped him sit down and then gave him a kiss on the lips and hugged him.

I shook myself to look away and then turned to focus on Lepus in Cassidy's arms. "So what do we do with it?"

Maxwell cracked his knuckles as he leered at it. "I say we make some Hasenpfeffer and serve it up. The thing's given us enough trouble for it".

Cassidy protectively tightened her grip on the rabbit. "No way" she shot him down.

Maxwell approached her and loomed over her, "and how are you going to stop me?"

Hmm Mmm, Nico cleared his throat as Will handed him a cardboard box. "Actually, I have an idea of what to do with it. May I?" He asked Cassidy as he held his hands out. She hesitantly handed off the bunny. It started screaming when it came into his grip and he put it right away. He got out a pencil and wrote a name on the box and then got a golden drachma and put it on the box. "It's all yours" he told the air.

The box sprouted a pair of wings as it slowly fluttered up into the air and winked out of sight.

"What did you do?" I asked as I watched the box vanish.

"Sent it off with OPS, Olympus Postal Service. Hermes will take care of Lepus and send it off to her new home. I think she'll like it, the guy I sent him to just loves, love. And what has more love to give than a bunny?" Nico smiled as he chuckled to himself.

* * *

A young man sat on a bench. His white wings gently flapping behind him as he read a book. A set of golden bow and arrows sat beside him. He barely noticed when the package plopped down next to him out of the blue.

The guy threw his shoulder-length, black hair behind him and raised a curious eye. "And what have we here?" He looked over the label and smirked, "Nico di Angelo, I wonder what he could have sent me".

The man opened the box and with a start, Lepus jumped out like a Jack in the Box and bolted for the rose hedges.

Cupid snorted in annoyance as he got his bow and arrow and readied to strike the bunny down. "Lepus! Confound it all". He shot off an arrow but the rabbit hopped out of the way leaving a silver eyed clone. As Lepus hopped about, she made more bunnies until the entire rose garden was full of hungry rabbits.

Cupid's red roses were being chomped down to twigs as Cupid angrily glared at the sky. "Curse you Nico di Angelo!" Nico 1 : Cupid 0


	25. Call Collect from the Triple-G

**Chapter 24: Call Collect from the Triple-G**

Things managed to settle down at camp after we took care of Lepus. Will helped Nico limp over to a cabin with black siding and ominous green fire burning above stone pillars: Hades Cabin. The Golden Fleece's magic slowly began to fill the camp; which along with the Demeter Campers' green thumbs meant everything was green and lively in a few hours.

I wrote up a letter for my mother, letting her know everything I was getting into at Camp… with a few minor details left out. I told her that we had a bit of a rodent problem in camp but we managed to take care of it. And that I was planning to go on a trip away from the camp with some of my new friends. Ehh close enough.

Me and everyone else made plans to drop down into the Labyrinth. Chiron set me up with backpacks full of ambrosia squares and nectar. He made sure that I was armed with a sword and gave me a few drachmas for the road, "You never know when you will have need of them. Better to have and not use. The same cannot be said of the reverse".

He was about to kick me out of Big House when a rainbow shimmered into view, right in the middle of the room. A grumpy looking guy with crossed arms filled the terrible static-filled image, while two dogs whimpered at the bottom of the image.

Then the dogs got up at the same time and I realized, "that's a two headed dog". The dog heads barked together happily as if they knew I was talking about them.

The man grunted as the dogs immediately shushed up. "No, really?" The man sarcastically bellowed as he glared at me. "I didn't realize. Chiron, your campers get dumber every year".

Chiron raised an eyebrow as he approached the Iris Message. "Is there a particular reason that you called me Eurytion. Or is this just a social call at my expense. Best keep your message short, Iris Messaging has been spotty as of late".

The man glared at the centaur before he silently moved to the side and allowed us to peer into the background. It looked like a stampede had come through the area. The grassy field looked torn up like a plow carved through it. Wooden fences littered the ground like giant splinters. And a weird assortment of red and black cattle and weird hybrid animals were running around scared all over the place.

"My ranch got completely trashed. I need some help reclaiming some lost animals". Eurytion admitted bitterly.

Chiron looked a bit worried, his tail flickered, "what sort of animals?"

Eurytion turned red, he gave an explosive sigh and then reluctantly admitted. "The Horses of Diomedes".

Chiron turned pale, "Di Immortales. And they're loose in the Labyrinth? They could be anywhere".

"Normally I would take care of the problem personally. I managed to corral all the other animals. However, the horses managed to skedaddle off the property before I could catch them. And you know, good ol' dad made me immortal, but only on the ranch. I step one foot off an it's curtains for me".

"I understand; how did this happen?" Chiron asked as the image began to flicker again.

Eurytion peered into the image, but the flickering only got worse. The message became garbled as he spoke. "Lady in a chariot… Pulled by animals… Trashed the place and let everything loose… Artemis!" Eurytion began to explain something, only for the rainbow to fade out completely.

"That didn't sound good" I replied to fill the silence in the room.

Chiron clip-clopped to the door and gestured me to follow him out. He walked out to the porch and stared off into the forest. "The Four Horses of Diomedes are vicious, and man-eating. They also have a bottomless appetite".

"Well we're still safe. I mean with the boundary still up and Thalia's tree still healthy. Right?" I asked as an afterthought Chiron shook his head uncertainly.

"The Labyrinth is a maze which stretches under the entire world. Its tunnels run even under the grounds of the camp. Gods forbid the Horses should wander into the wrong tunnel…"

"Wait, you're saying they can just trot past our defenses in the middle of the night and pick us off one at a time?"

"Exactly" Chiron agreed as he stared at the woods. "In the middle of the forest is a pile of boulders. The campers refer to it with crass names, but the official name is Zeus' Fist. Underneath it is an entrance to the Labyrinth. During the war, the enemy used it to try and break into camp but we held them off. We will have to do the same now. However, we must send you off at once".

"You think it was Artemis? She let the Horses loose?"

Chiron looked conflicted as his back legs tightened up and he made a pleading glance to the sky. "It seemed highly suspect. A lady in a chariot pulled by animals and the name Artemis popped up in the conversation. It does not bode well".

I nervously rubbed the back of my neck as I looked into the woods. "We were supposed to head into the maze eventually to find her. We'll just go in now, find the Horses and drop them off to Eurytion. Maybe he can tell us more about where Artemis might have gone".

"Certainly" Chiron agreed. "Relay the message to the others. We will need Rachel to pack as well. She will lead you through the tunnels". I nodded to him and then ran off for the cave to grab Rachel and then the common green to grab everyone else. Chiron watched me with sad eyes. "Is this it for you?" He asked himself before he returned inside.

* * *

As we walked up to a pile of rocks that looked like a heap of deer poop; I mean Zeus' Fist, I glanced over everyone coming with me.

Rachel led the group. Her frizzy red hair exploded in all directions. She traded in her painter's smock for a new denim shirt and she had a pair of jeans and old sneakers on. She looked confident at the moment, but when I came into the cave and told her it was time to go; she shut down for a moment before giving me a big, forced smile, "Brilliant".

Maxwell walked right next to me, the sound of metal on metal clanged with every step as his small arsenal of weapons clattered. He kept himself right in between me and Cassidy and gave her the evil eye. Not now, but maybe one on one, me and Maxwell need to talk about this angst. It's probably not good for either of them.

Cassidy had her eyes to the floor as she scuffled along with us. She tried to insist that she didn't have to come. Her part of the prophecy was already done she added. And surprisingly, Maxwell agreed with her and tried to convince me to leave her. I didn't think it was however, leaving Maxwell in a prickly mood and Cassidy shaking like a leaf all morning.

And taking up the back of the group, Shayla strummed on her lyre a sad bit of music on the strings. 'Dun Dun, Dun, Duun'. Cassidy whimpered as Maxwell snorted at her. I turned to Shayla and gave her a reassuring smile. "Shayla, we aren't going to die".

Shayla shifted her melody from 'Funeral March" to 'Chopsticks'. "I wouldn't hold my breath. For all we know, there'll be death…" she offhandedly remarked as she practiced her chords.

We got to Zeus' Fist, I took a look around but there wasn't a sign or a gaping hole in the ground that screamed, 'Entrance to Labyrinth beware'. "So how do we get in exactly?"

Rachel stepped forward and let her hand slide over the boulders as she walked by. She stopped in front of a dull looking rock about her height. When she pressed her hand into it, a lightly glowing blue delta symbol appeared in the rock face before it turned brown again and the whole boulder rolled aside.

"Delta, the symbol of Daedalus. The letter marks the entrances all leading down into the maze. Mortals can't open them but demigods can, even if they usually don't notice them. I can see the symbol glowing even without being near it". She blinked with her green peepers, "something about clear sight makes the doorways stand out to me".

As she vanished into the darkness followed by each of my friends, one by one; I looked back at camp. Everyone else was at the common green where we said our good byes. Last I saw, Drew was seriously trying to convince her siblings to throw out Cassidy's stuff since she wasn't likely coming back. The Ares kids were placing bets on whether Maxwell would come back in one piece. And the Stoll Brothers were eyeing my empty cabin as if puzzling out how to get into my stuff. 'Good luck with that. That electric padlock is still on my stuff'.

I looked away and then stepped into the darkness. Only for the entrance behind me to close with a shudder.


	26. Conquest, Death, Famine and War

**Chapter 25: Conquest, Death, Famine and War**

As we walked through the tunnels of the Labyrinth, I immediately came to the conclusion: we're lost. I remembered taking three rights and ending up in a completely different place. It gave me a major headache.

"There's no structure to the Labyrinth" Rachel explained after seeing my confusion. "The maze is constantly changing and growing. By the time you drew up a map, it would already be too outdated to use. Annabeth tried, but she conceded the project a fool's folly".

"So then how are we going to get around?"

"Simple" Rachel explained as she focused her attention on the floor. "The tunnels have this glow about them. Depending on what's in them, if it's a dead end or a corridor the place gives off a different vibe you feel me?"

I was going the shake my head no, but everyone looked at me pointedly and nodded their heads. Like a bobble head I did the same.

Rachel crouched onto the ground and picked up a lock of hair. It had a faint stink to it, like the smell of rotten meat. "The Horses came through here recently".

"Here?" Cassidy whimpered as she looked in front of and then behind her. "But we only just got into the tunnels, how can they be so close to camp?"

"Time works differently down in the maze. For all we know it's been a whole day up there, but down here it went by quick. Distance works the same way. For all we know, we could have walked all the way to California by now". I looked at her in disbelief. "Don't look at me like that, I've done it before, went to see Alcatraz for a day trip".

We walked for a half hour, with Rachel occasionally stopping us to walk around a particular boulder or column. It seemed pretty random and pointless at the time. Rachel picked up a pebble and threw it on a stone in front of us, which sank an inch down. A bunch of rusty pikes six feet long jutted out of the floor in an instant before slowly sinking back down into the floor. "Be wary of traps and pitfalls, the Labyrinth can kill you if you're not careful".

* * *

Finally, we left the tight corridors and entered a giant, empty room. The walls were supported by humongous, ancient Greek columns carved of marble. Other than the door we walked in through, there were three other doorways. In the middle of the floor someone had laid out a huge mosaic compass with a statue standing at each point.

"The Four Winds" Rachel explained as she slowly walked around them. "The room is safe, but there's something off about these figures".

Maxwell crossed his arms and grumbled, "could be work of the Gods, maybe Hephaestus. Didn't he make metal statues that could walk and kill people?"

"Automatons" Rachel agreed as she eyed the frozen metal statue of Boreas, cast in an odd purple metal and stood on the north point. "They appear to be harmless enough. However, it would be prudent to leave them be".

Shayla yawned in a bored way as she skipped around the statues. "Any sign of a horse? Oh all-seeing source?" She rhymed as she twiddled away a few notes on her lyre.

"Since when did you get into rhyming?" I asked scratching my head in confusion.

She shrugged her shoulders as she replied, "I'm a poet. And I didn't even know it".

"Lame!" Maxwell cried out. "Save the bad rhymes for your Dad kid. Though the pipsqueak has a point. You see where the Horses went Rachel?"

Rachel slowly spun around, looking at each of the doorways. She looked a bit stumped. "That's the tricky bit. It looks like the horses have gone through all four of the tunnels. Can't really tell when…"

* * *

"I can" Cassidy interrupted. "Look" she added in a shaky voice as she pointed down one of the tunnels.

A distant neigh rang out from the darkness. Not long after, the faint glow of a candle sputtered into life. The little flame grew into a raging fire as it came barreling toward us. This was no fire; it was a horse. A tall one with burning red eyes and a blazing mane. Its fur coat glowed with a white hot intensity as it bared its sharp canines. Do horses even have canines usually?

Then the cantor of another horse came crashing toward us from the southern tunnel we entered from. It burned just like the first, but its fur had a sickly yellow-green glow to it, like the color of expired meatloaf.

A third horse shot out of the east entrance. Its body glowed like an ultraviolet light with a black body and a dull, flickering halo of deep red flames. Its eyes glared at us like polished garnet as it snorted at us.

And before we had a chance to make a retreat out the west tunnel, a final horse came clip clopping toward us. Its entire body burned red like a dying sunset and its eyes like a pair of simmering charcoals. Its sharp teeth shined in the horses' combined light; as they slowly approached; starting to circle us and go inwards.

Maxwell reached behind him and pulled out a bronze double sided axe. Its head glinted in the fiery light, but the horses barely even noticed it as they fearlessly got closer. "We can take them, five against four" Maxwell harshly whispered as he held his weapon in a bone-white grip.

"Good luck with that" Cassidy replied as she shied away from the horses and hid behind me.

"Coward" Maxwell hissed as his weapon shook slightly in his grip but he stood firm.

"Any weaknesses Rach?" I asked the oracle as her flame red hair glowed in the light.

Rachel whispered, "water".

Immediately all four horses reared up and neighed nervously as they eyed Rachel. Afraid of water huh? Well they sure messed with the wrong guy. I walked away from my friends; leaving them in the middle of the room. The Four Horses of Diomedes clumped together and watched nervously as I approached. "Hi guys, how are you doing?"

The horses licked their lips and shined their teeth as they stared at me. _Hungry!_ They all called out together in my head.

Gods I didn't need to hear that. "We've come to take you nice horses back to your ranch. Your owner's been worried about you guys".

The horses neighed angrily as they stamped their feet. _Worried? He is glad to be rid of us, and we of him. He never fed us enough. The lady on the chariot pulled by the felines freed us. If he would only have stepped into our pen, we would have been happy and never left_.

"You guys are man-eating horses, I'm not sure he trusts you to leave him alone".

" _Nay, we would leave him alone. After we had a morsel here. A leg there. Maybe after we picked his bones clean. Forget the old demigod, here are tender morsels brothers_. The horses neighed excitedly as they readied to charge us.

"Uh Uh! I wouldn't do that" I warned them. "Don't you know who I am?"

 _Dinner!_

"Alex Conecke, half-blood and Son of Poseidon". They faltered their charge as the stared at me in terror. "And you're a bunch of smelly horses who need a bath".

 _BATH!_ All four cried in panic as they reared up on their legs and went off running in all directions. I spun around, trying to keep track of them, but they raced about, leaving me spinning and dazed with whiplash, trying to keep track of them. One of the horses brushed against the statue of Boreas and caused it to shift over.

"No!" Rachel cried out, too late.

The statue's mouth gaped wide open and all at once; a mighty wind exploded from it. Rachel went flying through the air, crashed into me, before forcing us into the wall which gave way to a secret passage and we dropped down into the dark.

Meanwhile, the other three statues turned to face toward the others and the horses. Zephyr, standing on the west point, let out a stomach-curdling wail as he sent Cassidy and Maxwell flying into another false wall and down into a black hole.

Notos, standing on the southern point, faced Shayla and gave a weak huff and sent the little girl wildly spinning off into a tunnel which then closed behind her.

Eurus merely glared at the horses before they cantered down one of the open tunnels; completely overwhelmed with fright.


	27. Fears and Loves

**Chapter 26: Fears and Loves**

I was completely shocked when the statue of Boreas suddenly turned toward me and blasted me through the wall. I looked behind me at the shrinking hole of light and saw Rachel's red frizzy hair flying out in all directions. I reached out with my hands to try and grab her but we fell apart from each other.

All at once the light vanished; swallowed up by the darkness. I crashed into a mucky pool of sand and dirt. I tried reaching down, pulling at my feet, but the ground didn't let me go. I reached for the other foot, but all my squirming just made me slip under the stuff quicker.

"Quicksand!" I screamed as I reached for the edge of the pool, trying to grab something firm to pull against. I couldn't feel the edge. All I did was fall face first into the dirt.

My head broke the surface as I took a gasping breath. I could barely get my hands above the sand. I tried to kick under the sand, but it gave way under me.

I tried to will the earth to spit me back out; just as if I took a dip in the deep end of a pool. But the quicksand ignored me. If anything, it dragged me under even quicker. "Help! Help me!" I screamed as I flailed my hands and kicked my legs; trying to push against the bottom of the pool. But there was no ground for my feet to push against.

All too quick, the ground swallowed me up; and there was no way I was getting back up again.

I couldn't give in. I'm a Son of Poseidon for Gods sakes. I couldn't drown! I tried to think of ways to get out of this mess. This was no dip in the ocean, or even like flying a prototype plane like Catherine. Or even like trying to face down Scythia for Beau. At least they could see the threat and meet it head on. I was completely in the dark, I couldn't see a way out.

I let out a strangled gasp and swallowed a gritty gulp of sand and mud. This was it, wasn't it?

Out of nowhere, something reached down from above and latched onto my wrist in a vice grip. I lurched from surprise, yanking downward. The thing sank a bit down before it yanked back with a great tug.

I rocketed out of the muck and my head broke into the air.

I crashed forward onto the ground; panting and hacking as I tried to clear my throat of all the gunk I breathed in. I looked behind me and watched as the pit of quicksand slowly began to spiral. All at once the sand crystalized and turned into solid rock.

I reached out shyly with the tip of my foot and tapped it. Solid rock.

"You afraid of drowning Alex?" a voice called out behind me. I jumped and looked back. Rachel's red hair flared out in all directions. Her pale skin glowed in the dark along with her green eyes. Aside from a couple bruises under her skin and one of her arms covered in sand, she looked okay.

"Never thought" I mumbled to myself between coughs. "I learned to swim before I could walk. Lots of ways to die, but I never thought drowning would be one of them". I shuddered at the though. "Thanks for saving me".

Rachel shrugged her shoulders as she got up. "No problem. Although next time don't try dragging me down with you. You almost got me stuck in the muck with you. You have to be careful down here Alex. The Labyrinth is a maze, it's easy to get lost. But worse than that, this place peers into your soul. Learns your greatest fears and then toys with you by torturing you with them".

I looked at her with wide eyes and I tried to shake off the bad feeling, I almost died. "What are you afraid of Rachel?"

She gave me a dark glare as she turned away; ignoring my question, and started leading me down a tunnel. "Let's go Alex. Pray you don't find out".

* * *

Meanwhile, in another tunnel, Cassidy screamed as she slid down the black hole in the floor and into a deep pool of water. She wildly thrashed around; throwing her arms in every direction trying to look for a hand hold. Her feet tore furiously at the water beneath her, seeking the ground just out of reach to push against.

She sank underneath the water and gasped in a panic, inhaling water and making her lungs burn in complaint. 'Well this is it' she thought in her mind as her life flashed before her eyes. 'I'm going to drown here, in the dark, all alone. Just like him!' Cassidy started sobbing as she screamed under the water.

All at once, a meaty hand latched onto her wrist. In shock, she got her other hand, balled it into a fist, and then lobbed it toward whatever grabbed her.

The thing lurched away, pulling her under the water. No matter how much she struggled, the shadow under the murky water refused to let her go.

Out of nowhere, she could feel her feet brush the bottom. The shadow grabbed her with another hand on her waist and then threw her out of the water. She flew out and landed clumsily like a penguin on the rocky beach.

She looked back behind her and watched as a lumbering shadow rose from the water and then crashed down next to her. "Maxwell?" She gasped from surprise.

He held a hand to his nose, wiping it as blood slowly dripped from it. "I try and save your scrawny ass. And the thanks I get for it is being socked in the nose".

Cassidy alternated between being deathly pale from the shock and the cold and red from the embarrassment. "Gods Maxwell, I'm sorry. I didn't know" she tenderly reached out to give him a once over. He leaned away as if her touch would burn him. "It's just, you know. The water…" she lamely added.

Maxwell snorted as he shook off his short brown hair. "What's your deal anyway? Why are you afraid of a bit of water? We must have been like ten feet from the shore".

She failed to meet his eyes, preferring to stare down at the ground between them. "I uhm. I never learned how to swim".

Max crossed his arms as he rolled his eyes and snorted. He dug out his driftwood and pocketknife and started notching. "Then get someone to show you how. What, did you choose not to because it'll ruin your make up?" He teasingly sneered at her.

All at once Cassidy's cheeks puffed up with a huff, her face turned red. She whipped her hand through the air and smacked Maxwell right on the face and then shoved him away on his side for good measure. The knife clattered harmlessly onto the floor. "You jackass!" she bitterly hissed as Maxwell looked at her with wide eyes. Her brown eyes burnt with fire. "My father died in the water!"

Maxwell rubbed his burning cheek tenderly as he fixed his eyes on hers.

* * *

"We were visiting relatives on the Jersey Shore" Cassidy began as her eyes became unfocused and she dove into her story. "I was only a kindergartener. My dad was an Olympic swimmer and was putting himself through his paces. I watched him from the beach, cheering him on as he cut through the water like a fish. A wave came out of nowhere and he went under. There was a shadow and then he was, gone" she added with a broken voice.

"I tried to go in after him and almost got snatched away by whatever that shadow was. I would have drowned if the lifeguard didn't come and yank me out of the water". Cassidy brought her arms around her as she shivered; Maxwell sat there and watched in silence. "I was all alone. I tried to tell the man that my dad was still out there but he didn't believe me. Told me the water was perfectly safe" she spat the word out like poison.

"I cried until a swan landed next to me. A great big, white bird with a long neck, taller than me. It stared at me with its shiny black eyes and then honked at me and then started waddling off. After a while, it looked back at me and then honked and waited. I followed it up the beach until I ran into one of the satyrs who lead me back to the camp. That was the end of that" she sighed tiredly as she lay back on the ground.

"But ever since, I have been afraid of the water" she added as she stared blankly at the black ceiling.

"I'm sorry" Maxwell honestly replied as he crossed his arms defensively. "I didn't know".

"Why do you hate me?" She point-blank asked.

"I don't, hate, you…" Maxwell awkwardly replied as he looked away from her and own at the ground between them.

"Right" Cassidy countered as she began to list. "You think I'm an airhead, a waste of space. I can't hold my own in a fight to save my life. It's true I'm no Ares Fighter or Athena Brainiac, but I try my best!" Her voice cracked as she took a breath to calm herself down. "My heart's in the right place. I own up to my faults; yet you still treat me like scum, why?"

Maxwell looked like a cornered animal. His fingers nervously scratched the rocky ground. He picked up his knife and clicked it closed and put it away. He cautiously looked up at Cassidy, his eyes scanning out in both directions before whispering, "because I'm jealous".

Cassidy's eyes bugged out as she gave a choked laugh, "of what? You're popular, strong, great at fighting. No one treats you like glass. And everyone pushes me around. What do I have going for me?"

Maxwell shakily let loose a breath as he held out a fist. He slowly opened it and showed her what was in his hand. A little woodcarving, a boy, tall looking, an easy looking smile on his face, with wide shoulders and a nice figure. I realized who it was in an instant. "Alex" Maxwell groaned sadly as he let her look at the figurine he'd been making for days without anyone noticing. His other hand was balled up in a bone white fist, full of tension before it snapped and tiredly relaxed at the mention of the name.

"Oh?" Cassidy's eyes went wide with realization. "Oh! I'm a clueless idiot. And I'm supposed to be a Daughter of Aphrodite". Maxwell blushed once she understood the situation and fixed his eyes on the ground. "How long…?" she left the question hanging.

"Since the moment he picked me up and threw me out of the ring" he admitted certainly with a dazed smile on his face. "But I thought he was a child of Ares" he bitterly admitted. "I couldn't have him. I prayed and prayed it wasn't true. When he was claimed, I thought. Well I thought I had a chance" he sighed with hope in his voice.

"He isn't just strong. He's smart, knows when to pick his battles. He isn't impulsive, but he's not like a child of Athena either. He's got a heart. He isn't a realist. If he wants something, then he'll do it, even against the odds. I admire him" Maxwell concluded, a glow seemed to come from him as he talked.

"Sounds like more than just a case of hero worship" Cassidy replied with a smile. Love is lovely, no matter what form it takes.

At the sound of her voice, Maxwell crossed his arms and glared at her, "but he'll never look at me that way. He has you" he bitterly added.

"Whoa, oh, hey!" Cassidy interrupted as she held her hands up in surrender. "Me and him? We are not an item. In the middle of the night, during weak, desperate moments, do I imagine myself as his girlfriend? Sure he's a sweetheart. But in reality, I wouldn't last. I get the feeling, he needs someone who could keep up with him, be in his corner so to speak".

"You think he could see me that way?" Maxwell asked with reluctant hope as his hostile glared petered out and he cracked his knuckles nervously.

Cassidy gave him a warm smile, gently laying a hand on his; this time he didn't jerk away. Cassidy nodded in encouragement, "Maxwell, I'm sure you could. I'll even help you out if you let me. After all, Love is my cabin's specialty you know".

Maxwell nodded shyly, "yeah… thanks Cassie".


	28. So Sweet a Sound

**Chapter 27: So Sweet a Sound…**

Rachel lead the way through the dark tunnels. Honestly nothing made sense down here, so I stopped bothering with the effort to try. One minute we were walking down a hall with Greek columns and marble walls; and the next we were in a corridor with stainless steel corrugated siding.

Traps were discretely tucked in the floors, the walls, even the air was loaded with trip lines in places. If it weren't for Rachel, I probably would have blundered through every obstacle in our way and died five times.

We must have been at it for an hour when Rachel suddenly stopped. She raised her hand up, almost smacking me in the face since I was right behind her. "What is that?" she asked as she turned her ear toward the tunnel in front of us.

Strings. I could hear the sound of gently plucked stings. "Music, coming from down that way" I replied. I took a couple of steps toward the sound when Rachel blocked my way with an out stretched arm.

"Look" she glared at the ground. The floor was roughed up like there had been a struggle. Giant footprints of a clawed lizard covered the earth. "Something was here. And this tunnel leads to a dead end".

We slowly walked down the hall, the music grew louder, closer. My eyes went wide as I reached down and picked up something from the floor. A golden, gleaming arrow. "Shayla, she was here".

"And probably on the run" Rachel added as she caught the faint scuffs of a sneaker in the dirt. "We must prepare for anything".

* * *

The tunnel didn't go much further before widening into a large room. The walls glowed a deep orange, as if it were sunset. On a small hill stood a tall apple tree, and hanging from its branches, golden, juicy fruit. Below the branches; slept a giant drakon, coiled around the trunk protectively sort of like Peleus on steroids.

Thank the Gods the giant lizard was asleep, but sitting by its head in intense concentration was Shayla, tenderly strumming her lyre as the beast snored. "Boy am I glad to see you guys" she harshly whispered as her fingers coaxed out a soothing lullaby.

"What are you doing with that?" I asked in a shocked voice. The creature groaned in its sleep. Shayla played a couple of deep chords and then the beast sighed tenderly.

"Shhh!" Shayla hissed. "Please don't wake it up. After we got scattered by the Horses and the statues, I ended up in a tunnel with this thing. It was walking through with a bunch of eucalyptus branches in its mouth. Gods its breath is awful".

It chose that exact moment to burp in its sleep. Gag! Even from over by the door it smelled awful. And poor Shayla was right next to its mouth. Her eyes started tearing. Her fingers slipped and she played a sour note. The drakon's eyes scrunched up and it groaned as if it had a stomachache, before it settled down and went back to sleep.

"I tried shooting it with my arrows; but all it ended up doing was ticking it off. It cornered me in this room. I had nothing except my lyre. And then I thought, what do I've got to lose? I yanked it off my back and started strumming it. The monster's head started swaying with my melody and I got it to fall asleep".

The drakon curled protectively around the pleasing sound. "The only problem is; it won't let me go. Whenever I stop playing or try to move away from it; it starts to wake up. So any ideas guys?" She asked as her fingers slipped over the strings tensely.

Rachel looked nervously at the giant lizard; a dragon without wings but still terrifying. "This is obviously Ladon: Guardian of the Garden the Hesperides. And those are the Apples of Immortality. He makes sure no one gets to them. The fact we're even still alive is lucky, so keep strumming Shayla".

"Will do" Shayla bravely replied as her tongue stuck out as she concentrated on her music. "But hurry. I'm running out of material to play and Ladon hates repeats".

"We must distract the big brute somehow. Make Shayla less appealing of a target. But how?" Rachel mused with worry.

I smiled at the thought, "oldest trick in the book, a diversion. Magicians use distractions in their acts to draw people's attention. All the while, he sets up the trick. That way, when he unveils the act, it'll look like magic".

"What are you going to do?" Rachel asked with worry.

"Do you know a safe way to get us away from Big Ugly?" I asked.

"Reasonably sure" she replied. "Nothing leading to the horses, but a safe place at least".

I nodded as I stared out at the stream running by the far wall of the room. I slowly brought my hands up and made a wall of water rise from the ground. I left one hand straight out, holding up the wall against gravity. The other I had cupped around my mouth. I yelled at the wall and let my voice bounce off of it. "Hey Big Ugly!"

Ladon opened his crusty eyes and blearily blinked. Shayla hopped onto her feet and scampered toward the opening in a panic. Ladon watched her, ready to lunge after her and swallow the little girl in one bite. He heard the water splashing behind him and he turned around. I danced around, flailing my arms, my reflection in the water did the same.

Ladon roared as he threw himself at the reflection. He charged right through the water and crashed into the rock wall. The whole room began to shake all around us. Cracks started spider-webbing up the walls and across the ceiling. "Alright people let's hustle!" Rachel and Shayla ducked out of the room and into the dark tunnel. The giant reptile turned to face me and throttled me with a blast of fire. I jumped into the hallway, just as the opening crashed down behind me.

* * *

We ran down a very long hallway as if we were still being chased by a pissed off lizard. When we finally ran out of steam, I leaned against the rock wall, Shayla slid against it and crashed her butt on the ground and Rachel glared at me under her sweaty, fiery hair. "That; was the stupidest thing I'd ever seen. And believe me, I know stupid. I'm friends with Percy Jackson for the Gods sakes!"

Shayla huffed tiredly as she stared at the ground, "but it was pretty awesome".

Rachel rolled her emerald eyes and sighed, "that it was".

"Water under the bridge" I coolly replied as I shrugged my shoulders and patted my sleeve, trying to snuff out my smoldering shirt. "So. Where do we go from here Rach?"

She looked down the hall, at the floor and then up at the ceiling. "The tunnel on the right I think" she started as I launched myself off the wall and headed down the dark corridor. "But I think there's something…" she began to say.

I rounded a corner when I crashed into something. A pair of voices grumbled in the dark. A deep voice just in front of me, and a bit of a whine on the ground. I reached into my pack and brought out a flashlight to shine the way.

Maxwell brought his hands up, palms in front, blocking the light from his face. "Gods Conecke, do us all a favor and turn off that light!"

I shined it up at the ceiling making the glare turn into a pale white glow bouncing off the ceiling. Maxwell blinked the stars away from his sight; before he offered a meaty hand to Cassidy and helped her back on her feet. 'Thanks' she quietly muttered as he nodded. Hmm maybe me and Maxwell won't need that one on one after all.

"Where the heck did you guys come from?" I asked as my eyes went from one to the other.

Cassidy replied. "After the screaming statues blew us away, we crashed into a hole and fell down in a pool. I almost drowned. If it weren't for Maxwell, I probably wouldn't be here".

Maxwell uncomfortably took the praise, crossing his arms and rolling his eyes with a smile. "Only she could almost drown ten feet away from the shore. But everything worked out fine. We dried off afterward and then picked a tunnel and stuck with it. Hoped we'd run into the rest of you. And what's your story Alex? You look a bit, burnt" he sniffed the air as if something stunk and looked at me nervously.

"Nothing too crazy. We lost Shayla down another tunnel. We found her playing her lyre, she managed to make some drakon called Ladon take a nap".

Maxwell stared at me with wide eyes. His attention was completely focused on me. "How did you get away. Ladon's relentless".

"We almost didn't to be honest. I managed to fool it into going after my reflection by throwing my voice. Hello!" I hollered off one of the walls, and my echo rang out on the other side.

Mawell nodded slowly, his mouth hanging a bit open with awe. "You tricked the mighty Ladon with your reflection and lived to tell about it. Right on".

I blushed as I rubbed the back of my neck. "You didn't do so bad yourself. I mean you saved Cassidy and managed to get yourselves here in one piece".

"Right, speaking of that" Rachel interrupted. "I would much prefer to remain in one piece. So the sooner we get out of this place and find those blasted horses, the better".

"She has a point" Cassidy agreed.

So we all shut up and let Rachel take the lead. It wasn't too long before we were back on the trail. The tufts of rotting horse hair seemed to hint at where the horses went. Although the giant basilisk skeleton in the middle of the hallway was a dead giveaway.

"Goodness, how awful" Cassidy cried as she walked along the bleach white bones of the giant snake. "Those horses picked it completely clean".

"I wouldn't shed a lot of tears for that monster" Rachel replied as she gave the bones a pretty wide berth. "Even now, the fangs of that thing are still lethal. Still dripping with Basilisk poison. The stuff can make your blood boil and your bones turn to dust".

Cassidy shuddered as she backed away from the stripped bones of the snake.

* * *

We finally got out of the tunnels and entered a large room with a pasture with rolling green hills. Honestly how all this stuff managed to fit underground, with no one accidentally digging into it? I have no clue. And in the back of the room were the four fiery horses; looking pretty mellowed out, with bulging bellies and contently neighing.

"There they are!" I shouted in exasperation. The four horses swiveled their heads to look straight at me. They all reared up on their back legs and started racing around in circles in a panic. Thankfully there was no way out for them, except the way we came in; and hopefully no traps to spring in here.

 _Oh no Lord, please let us go! We don't want to have a bath_ one of them petulantly whinnied. _The water hurts us. I still cringe from the last bath your Lord Brother forced us to have!_

"Alright, all right!" I shouted getting them to stop running around like headless chickens. "We're not here to give you a bath anyway. All we want is for you guys to stop causing trouble and head back to the ranch and to Eurytion. Sound good?"

 _Sure Lord. And we'll even give you and your companions rides._ I approached the horses and everyone else followed behind me cautiously. I couldn't blame the others; I mean they don't call them man-eating horses for nothing. But hopefully after the giant snake they just had, they're more scared of getting a bath from me than hungry to try and eat us.

* * *

It wasn't a very long ride to the ranch. I saw a short guy with black greasy hair and tanned skin. And at his side he had a two headed Doberman. "Down Orthrus!" He commanded the dog, but it ran off and charged straight for us.

The horses reared up and we all spilled off their backs. Then the dog barked and nipped at the horses' hooves and chased them off to the stables.

The man walked up to us and shook his head in annoyance. "Sorry bout that. The dog's been feeling a bit down on himself since he let those four get away. He wanted to make sure they all got put in their place. Thanks for wrangling them for me. Eurytion" he stated simply as he held out his hand.

I grabbed it, "Alex". I waved my free hand over the others and they all sounded off. "Nice to meet you. I was wondering if you could give us some information. Since we got your horses for you".

Eurytion crossed his arms and snorted, "you should be grateful I gave your camp any warning at all. I had my hands full as is. What do you want?"

"Artemis" I told him. "We need to find Lady Artemis ASAP, do you know where she is?"

Eurytion rolled his eyes, "didn't you hear through my Iris Message? Artemis is…"

"Right here" a little girl called out. We all turned and looked at her. She must have been only twelve, with long brown hair, silver eyes and a silver bow at the ready. She had a coat of fur that glowed like moonlight and a silver circlet on her head. "I am she, so what is it you seek of me?"


	29. Lady of the Lions

**Chapter 28: Lady of the Lions**

I stared down at the little girl with disbelief. She was only a few inches taller than Shayla. She couldn't have been more than twelve. "You're Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt? But wait, what she doing here?" I asked toward Eurytion in confusion. "I thought she was the one who…"

Immediately one of the girls around Artemis marched forward and glared at me. I went silent when she growled at me and readied her bow and arrow. "You dare impugn my Lady by suggesting that it was by her hand that this place was razed!"

Artemis graciously raised a hand, gesturing the girl next to her to calm down. "Stand down Phoebe, I am certain they mean no ill will. No child" she directed at me, which was ironic because I had to have been a few years older looking than the goddess. "I came at Eurytion's behest, to assist him in capturing his _property_ " she spat out the last word as if it left a vile taste in her mouth. "Though these creatures should run free, he does tend to their every need in captivity".

"But it had to have been you" Maxwell countered as he crossed his arms and stared down at Artemis. "The Calydonian Boar got loose and nearly steamrolled over Alex and the rest of camp. Last time that thing was causing trouble, your name was written all over it".

Artemis' head tilted to the side as she looked at Maxwell with owlish eyes. "I beg your pardon? I will admit I released that game the first time; after I was slighted by King Oeneus when he forgot to include me in his offerings to the Gods. I exacted rightful vengeance…"

"And sparked a hell of a mess in the process" Maxwell interrupted. I really wanted to get Max to shut up. The other girls standing with the Goddess stared at him grimly as they raised their silver bows and their dogs started growling at us. But the Son of Ares was on a roll. "And the second time around, the trophy from the Boar almost caused a feud back at Camp".

Artemis shrugged her shoulder in a relaxed way. The girls around her took her cue and also relaxed, lowering their arms and the dogs went silent. "The names may change and the places too, but history comes and goes". She stared directly at me, I got lost in her silver eyes. Deep as an ocean. "This news of the Boar is most distressing however. I would have words with you". Maxwell and the others began to step forward when the Goddess emphasized, "alone".

Maxwell's grip on the shaft of his ax grew tight and white as he growled at Artemis, "I don't trust you".

Artemis replied with a gentle, all-knowing smile, "worry not. I will return Alex to you with nary a hair on his head out of place". She slowly started walking toward grove of trees. "Come along Alexander".

Maxwell stepped forward, ready to disobey the Goddess; when Cassidy placed her hand on his shoulder. The two of them locked glances and had a silent conversation before surprise, surprise he crossed his arms and then just stood there as he glared at Artemis.

Maxwell wasn't the only one who looked itching to be a fly on the wall of our conversation. The girls who came with Artemis were raring to go. But she told them to stay behind as well.

* * *

As we faded into the bushes and trees, the noise from the others disappeared behind us. I looked ahead to Artemis and then asked her rather head on, "Why's Maxwell so afraid of you? You don't look all that tough".

Artemis' eyes thinned as she considered her response. "Men who thought the same way of me in the past lived to regret it. Boys" she groaned as she rolled her eyes and then sighed in a depressed way. "Quick to judge. But honest at least" she conceded the bittersweet point. "I may change my form as I see fit. This appearance suits me, as it allows me to become closer to my hunters".

"They look so young" I thought aloud as I looked over my shoulder. "It's alright for them to be going after monsters?"

"Hmm, you think we are frail, we are not as we appear. Phoebe, my shining lieutenant, has seen over a thousand years. And many of my girls have seen their fair share of time go by. They are immortal, provided they do not suffer a grievous injury while out in the battlefield".

"Have any?" I asked.

Artemis' eyes grew stormy as she turned around and gestured roughly with her fingers, "I ask the questions boy! Now what is this about my boar?"

And so I quickly recounted my story about the Boar. How it chased me up the coast, all the way to Camp Half-Blood. By the end of the tale, the Goddess looked as if she had aged a few years and looked exhausted. "Most disturbing" she replied with a hollow voice. "Such creatures were banished to the deepest reaches of Tartarus, so that they may never rise to wreak more harm on the mortal realm. The fact that it has returned has made me certain of only one thing: that someone summoned it from the pit".

"If it wasn't you, then who?"

"I am uncertain. I did not get a glimpse. The perpetrator had left before Eurytion summoned my aid. I will tell you what he told me. A woman in a carriage of gold, drawn by a team of roaring lions. A crown on her head.

"Lions?" I asked in disbelief, not sure I heard that part correct.

"Yes" she replied with unwavering certainty. "The woman leaped from the carriage and stomped the ground, causing it to tear asunder. Fences went down as the earth cracked beneath her feet. She approached the Horses of Diomedes and let them loose; before she hopped back on her chariot declaring as she left that the Wild would take vengeance on all that Man had wrought. This was two days past".

"Wait, two days ago? But Eurytion just called for help this morning".

"He had been busy trying to manage whatever live stock was found. Why would the time be important?"

"Because at about the same time, someone left an unmarked package at Camp. And in it was one heck of a hungry bunny. If that wasn't bad enough, it started making clones which swarmed the whole camp. If we didn't manage to find the original and get rid of the copies, the whole place would have turned into a stripped wasteland. They even started going to town on Thalia's Tree".

Artemis nervously blinked her eyes, "if Thalia's Tree were to die, the barrier would have gone down. At the same time the Horses were loosened. Di Immortales, this cannot be a coincidence. This person must have wanted to break down the barrier and then attack the camp".

"But it's okay right?" I asked hopefully. "I mean we found the Horses, brought them back here nice and full. And Lepus was taken care of and Thalia's Tree is doing fine. We're all good…" I declared, trying to convince myself that what I just said was absolutely true.

Artemis choose to look emotionless and replied in serious voice, "For now. Make haste back to the surface, report the news to Chiron. I fear things are only going to get worse from here". And when a goddess has an ominous hunch, you can bet she's going to be right.


	30. Commotion by the Ocean

**Chapter 29: Commotion by the Ocean**

As Shayla had put it, the will of Gods and prophecies could not be denied. We made our way back topside as soon as possible. Rachel found a dull looking blue delta carved into a stone face; over a hole in the wall, at the edge of Eurytion's ranch. As soon as we stepped through; we found ourselves under the sun and back in front of Zeus' Fist. Gods know how the Labyrinth works. It took us all day to find the Triple-G going in; and it took five minutes to get back to camp. Go figure…

Everyone seemed happy enough that we made it back in one piece. A couple of the guys in Ares Cabin grumbled as golden drachmas exchanged hands to guys with all grins. Maxwell marched up to the brooding guys and socked them in the shoulders and rough housed with them as he squeezed out the details of everything he'd missed.

Everyone else began to go off and do their own thing. Shayla went off with Will who drilled her for every little thing that happened. He turned a bit pale as he looked at her lyre and then up at me before they ducked into the infirmary. I guess they got to the part about Ladon.

Cassidy's reception was quiet. No one from her cabin showed up when we walked in. I thought that was a bit of a dick move. She gave me a brave little smile, which failed to reach her eyes, before she started walking off and headed to the strawberry fields.

Me and Rachel walked to Big House after we ditched everyone at the common green. She looked at me with wide green eyes, her fingers nervously twitching as she held open the door for me. "Well at least you can tell Chiron we haven't done anything to earn the ire of Artemis".

"Right" I replied coolly. "But if not her, then who?"

Rachel shrugged her shoulders as she turned around and headed to the woods. Probably to hole herself up in that cave; trying to make sense of random chimes in the wind.

I walked inside and took a look around. The den had a pleasant blaze burning in the fireplace. Seymour the stuffed leopard head stared at me with a predatory gleam in its eyes; before it snarled and hissed at me. I looked to the side and saw a pile of weenies. I picked one up and tossed it at the cat. Its teeth made short work of the hot dog before it used its long tongue to clean itself off and contently began to purr.

"Careful Alex, we don't want to spoil Seymour. After all, Gods know where those go after he has them anyway. For all we know, they're collecting in the wall behind him". I looked to the door and saw Chiron wheel himself in. He wore a tweed jacket and a crochet quilt over his fake legs.

"Chiron, just the Horseman I wanted to see" I said pleasantly with a smile on my face.

Chiron looked stone-faced as he replied in a tired voice, "centaur, Alex. Horseman sounds demeaning".

"You know I don't mean it like that. Anyway, I needed to bring you back the news from the quest".

"Oh do tell. Is it what Grover feared?" Chiron's fake legs rattled as he shifted in the wheelchair nervously.

"Not exactly. Artemis wasn't the one who sent the Boar. Turned out she was there because someone else was causing trouble down on the ranch". I gave him the cliff notes version of the plot me and Artemis came up with down at the Triple-G.

"Di Immortales indeed. A woman pulled by lions wearing a crown; sounds vaguely familiar. But for the life of me, I cannot remember from where. Perhaps these two separate incidents involving Lepus and the Horses are in fact related. But the question is, where do we go from here?"

We hardly had a moment to contemplate before a camper came crashing into Big House completely out of breath. "Chiron, we need you at the beach right away! It's Sharkzilla!"

"Oh for the love of… Alright, let's see what this is about".

When I walked to the beach, I came across an odd sight. A bunch of campers were standing a comfortable distance away from the shore. And lapping around in the shallows was none other than Akheilos giving a murderous black-eyed glare at anyone he could. And keeping him pinned to the shore were three giant horse/ fish hybrids.

"Hippocampi" Chiron stated as he took in the white horses swimming around splashing their rainbow colored fish tails.

I approached them and asked, "What are you all doing here?"

Akheilos growled as he thrashed in the water. The biggest of the water horses neighed, _young lord, we have brought you the shark undying. The Lady Artemis sought our Lord's cooperation to find and deliver the creature to you. She believes that he may have information to aid you on your way._

The shark made the water broil around it as it tried to jump out of the water and over the hippocampi; but they barred his way. "Curse ye Gods and their half-breed spawn! I have more than suffered enough at both of ye hands".

"You told us to go into the Labyrinth. The Lady with the Lions wasn't there" I replied as I crossed my arms.

Akheilos snorted in annoyance. "Thou asked me and I quote thy words, 'where is Artemis?' I told thou where she was. I did not say she was who thou were looking for. Thou didn't ask, _that_ question" the shark bared its silvery teeth in a grimace of a smile.

"Gah" I threw my hands open in exasperation. "Smart aleck fish. Alright Akheilos, who is it we're dealing with here?"

The giant fish looked contemplative before he crooned. "An ancient deity, a mother, she goes by three titles: one Roman, one Greek and one even older than that. Like the Gods and Goddesses, each form is unique. The oldest has not graced the earth in millennia. But woe to thee who hast harmed her children. She wakes and she will exact vengeance. The Wild is dying, Man is the cause, she has awakened, and she will not be kind. She cares not for the works of Man, nor for the Gods and Goddesses of Olympus. All that matters is the Wild to her".

"You speak in riddles beast, who is she?" Chiron demanded to know.

The shark's scales bristled and stood up on end. "Beast am I? Thou would do well to curb thy tongue. Learn from thine example. The path is clear. She sought to destroy this place where do thou think she will go next? Better figure it out soon _young lord_ " Akheilos added before he tackled one of the hippocampi and opened a way out to the sea. "Time is not on _thou_ side" and with that, the shark escaped before it could be corralled by the other two horses.

Chiron stomped his hoof in the sand in annoyance and flicked his tail. "Cursed child, even as a boy he drove me to the ends of my wits. Could never get a straight answer out of him". He looked around at all the campers staring; looking to him for guidance. "Alright, that is enough of that. Get back to what you were doing. The issue has been dealt with". Though we all wanted to believe him; I got the feeling that everyone did otherwise.

* * *

After a day to recover from the Labyrinth, Chiron approached me with an idea. Since we knew that the person causing all of this trouble was some sort of Goddess, we needed someone who was in touch with the divinities; especially the lesser goddesses. "If anyone would know this goddess' identity; it would be Jason".

"Jason? The same Jason who helped save the world and put Gaia back to sleep. That Jason?" I asked with a bit of excitement.

Chiron nodded. "Yes, he along with Percy and several of the others embarked on a quest to end the feuds between the two camps. However, neither is here. Jason is at Camp Jupiter on the other side of the country".

"And how am I supposed to get all the way over there?"

He patted my shoulder as he headed back to the Big House. "You will figure out a way".

* * *

I gathered up my friends as I walked from cabin to cabin. I think they figured out by this point, any time I was going somewhere they were coming too. As the brilliant leader, my job was to lead. Problem was I had no clue about how to get to California.

Of course a lesson every good leader should also learn is sometimes to let someone else take the reins. Cassidy pipped a solution. "We could always ask Rachel. She could guide us through the Labyrinth and pop us out in Alcatraz".

Of course as soon as she finished her thought, she along with pretty much everyone else started shuddering and cringing at the thought. But what the heck, no better ideas.

Thankfully, or unthankfully depending on how you looked at it, when we got to Rachel's place. The cave was empty. A sign hung in front of the curtain and the silver chimes disappeared from where they hung earlier. "'Gone to the Grove of Dodona, DO NOT DISTURB' by request of the Oracle. Well great" Maxwell groaned as he crossed his arms and glared at the curtain. "Now what?"

Shayla shrugged her shoulders as she started skipping back to camp. "Ask my brother. He'd know what to do. Cuz he's awesome like that".

* * *

We headed over to the infirmary and Shayla burst in and ran over to Will. "Will, Will!" she started shouting, even though she was already right next to him.

"No need to shout little sis, I hear you, I hear you". He turned away from the cabinet where he was putting away some medicine for later. "Now what's this about?" He asked as he patted a bed and sat down on it. It even had that paper that doctors put on the beds, that crinkles every time you move on it.

I looked from the corner of my eye and noticed Nico was quietly packing away powder in envelopes and wrapping up bandages. What a son of Hades was doing in an infirmary, I have no idea. But no one else said anything, so neither would I.

Shayla began to pour out her sob story; the likes of which that would have yanked even on the heart strings of a marble statue or one of Hephaestus Cabin's automatons. Bottom line, "we need a ride out West big bro. Can you bail us out?" she asked him.

Now all through the story, I noticed that Nico was slowly inching his way to the back of the room and heading for the door. Just when he was about to make a break for it, Will politely asked, gracing the brooding guy with a brilliant smile. "Niks! I need you to do me a favor". He blinked his wide blue eyes and beamed a deepening grin.

"Forget it Solace". Nico grumbled as crossed his arms, looked down at the floor and radiated a depressing energy around him. "I'm not shadow-travelling clear across the country like some glorified taxi service!"

"Aw please" Will begged as he brought his hands together and gave a hopeful look. "Look at this face" he mentioned about Shayla. "It's adorable, how could you say no?" Cue the puppy dog eyes from both of them toward Nico.

"No…" di Angelo insisted in a flat voice, though his façade looked like it started to crack.

"I'll make it up to you. When you get back. A quiet night for two, dinner, candlelight, conversation". He leaned in close to Nico's ear and whispered, 'and more…' Cassidy blushed as she brought a hand up to hide her smile. Maxwell took in the display with full attention like he was taking notes, and I felt, uncomfortable. Yeah I guess that's the best word for it.

Nico started turning red as a cherry under his pale skin. When he managed to compose himself he replied, "Oh screw it all. Come on you pests, let's get a move on. Not like I have anything better to do right now". He started gesturing us to head out. Over his shoulder he added, "Ricorda. Hai promesso, l'amore del mio cuore". Then it was Will who turned red as a tomato.


	31. Welcome to Camp Jupiter

**Chapter 30: Welcome to Camp Jupiter**

Nico walked over to the shady side of the infirmary. He told us all to lock hands and then he grabbed onto Cassidy.

How to describe shadow travel you ask? It's like stepping into a pitch-black void, where everything has gone bone-numbingly cold. In a weird way, it felt almost familiar to me.

With a yank we fell into the shadows and kept on tumbling through; never knowing which way was up or down.

When we popped back into the light, we managed to land right on our feet. Shayla looked green, as if she just got off a roller coaster and about to barf up her lunch. Cassidy looked frozen with fear. I sort of expected her to jump into my arms like when we were at the beach. But she didn't move, her eyes just flickered back and forth between Maxwell and me with a haunted expression.

Maxwell rolled his eyes and smirked as if he understood and then stepped forward and tossed her his warm jacket. "There you go. Better?" Maxwell smirked, while Cassidy mutely nodded and then started following after Nico. Am I missing something here? Are Max and Cassie an item? And why would I have a problem with that? I don't have a problem with that…

I took a look around and saw behind us were a set of rough cliffs with little stick figures peering out over the edge. Oh wait, I squinted my eyes to try and focus. Those weren't stick figures, those were people, armed people. "Is it alright we're here Nico? I think we might have ticked off the locals" I asked in a slightly concerned voice.

Nico gave a tight grin as his dark brown hair hid his eyes. "Roman sentries. Nothing to worry about. They make rounds to make sure nothing attacks their camp and the rest of town".

"Town?" Shayla pipped as she skipped by.

"New Rome" he replied as he pointed across the river to a high set of marble walls. "Most of the people living here are in the town up in the Citadel. The walls and sentries are a bit redundant with the cliffs and the Mist protecting the place. But they've had issues in the past. Giants and stuff".

He walked over to a bridge going over the shallow river, I could see the bottom. But instead of crossing it, Nico headed toward the bust of an old man with a mean expression as he glared out in the distance. Only when Nico stood just under the eyes of the bust did it shift and focus its gaze down at Nico. In an instant the glare faded to a look of interest and respect. "Son of Pluto" the bust acknowledged as it bowed its head. "Welcome back, I appreciate you coming to me rather than appearing right in the middle of the city with no warning. Will you be staying long?".

Nico nodded as well with an easy smile, "No problem Terminus. Not sure yet, is it alright to pass?"

"By all means" the bust declared before it began to glare out at the horizon once again. The giant wooden doors across the bridge slowly began to swing open. The sounds of a bunch of people started trickling out from the opening.

Nico lead the way and we all followed like mindless sheep. "That was Terminus" he replied out of nowhere. "Good guy. God of the Barrier. He powers the field that keeps the monsters from reaching this place. Am I a mind reader?" He grinned as his dark eyes twinkled under his bangs. "Don't have to be, the question was written all over your face".

* * *

As we walked through the giant door way, I took in the sights… Toto, we weren't in Kansas anymore.

I wasn't even sure we were still in California. New Rome looked less like a town and more like someone had taken a renovated Rome and plopped it ten minutes from San Francisco.

There were houses and stores with their doors open for business. People walking in every direction on the wide cobblestone streets. The buildings had marble columns, built with seamlessly laid marble bricks.

Filling the air was a mix of people talking, water splashing. The Little Tiber flowed outside the Citadel walls, just out of sight. But even in the city, water seemed to flow from everywhere. Aqueducts towered over the streets, taking water from one side of town to the other like a bunch of shallow water slides.

In the middle of every intersection were giant fountains with bubbling pools. Statues stood in the middle, spouting water from their mouths and their hands. I think a wise ass made one of the statues, because a statue of a little boy with a golden set of bow and arrows stood tinkling water like he was peeing with a cheeky smile.

Nico snorted in annoyance as he gave the figure a cold shoulder. "Cupid, Eros, God of Love. Call a prick by any name and he's still a nuisance". He rubbed a spot on his upper arm tenderly, as if remembering a bit of pain. "Let's go" he demanded and pushed past us; after realizing we were all staring at him.

Between all the white marble and the water flowing from every possible place, the city gleamed in the sun with a sparklingly shine.

We walked on a pathway raised over an open area full of pools. But these pools were steaming and full of people of all ages: little babies and kids, teens, parents and senior citizens; relaxing in the soothing waters of the baths and talking. They waved up at us with smiles on their faces when they saw our orange Camp Half-Blood shirts. Shayla waved her hand wildly as she shouted hello down at the people.

Nico snorted and grabbed Shayla and pulled her away from her adoring fans.

"There're so many people here. So many families, are they all children of the Gods?" Cassidy asked.

"Hardly" Nico replied. "Very few actually are. Most of the people here are descendants. Grandkids or their kids of the Gods. Many of the descendants are mortal with exceptional clear sight. But sometimes, they acquire aspects of their godly ancestors. It makes for some interesting combinations. I know a descendent of Venus and Mars who can charm speak anyone and is able to fight exceptionally, with either her words or with her spear. And some of the people here are from Camp Half-Blood. When they get older, they leave camp to make a safe life for themselves, go to University and maybe more".

"Are Percy and Annabeth doing that?" I asked and Nico gave me a death glare.

"Probably…" he replied with an edge. But then his annoyance softened as a little grin made its way on his face, "Zhang!"

A tall Asian guy turned around in place. He cut a large shadow, with wide shoulders. A wreath of laurels on his head, a tall spear in his hand, tipped not in celestial bronze but gold? He had a gleaming golden breastplate to match; along with a heavy purple cloak hanging from his shoulders. "Nico! How're you doing? We were worried about you. You just upped and left and barely said anything".

The slim guy shrugged his shoulders as he fixed the collar of his leather aviator jacket. "Got yanked back to camp by my big ball of sunshine on a chain. He's also the reason I'm back so quick. Might get whiplash at this rate" Nico joked. "I'm just here to dump these rug rats".

Zhang smiled with a white beaming grin, "I don't remember meeting you yet" he told me as his eye wandered up and down, inspecting me. "You must be new, Frank Zhang, Praetor and Son of Mars" he added lamely with a roll of the eyes and then held out his hand.

I smiled as I took and shook it, "Alex Conecke, Son of Poseidon, err Neptune? Your dad's the Roman form of Ares right? Are they like the same or are they two guys walking around right now?"

Frank's eyes got crossed at the thought and he frowned. "Let's hope not. One of them running around at a time is bad enough. Although, I think it's sort of a mix of the two. They have different personalities, almost like different people. Mars switches back and forth between Ares sometimes. Actually that whole split personality thing almost caused the two camps to start feuding in a civil war… but that's ancient history" he quickly added with his hands up in a comforting gesture.

God's changing forms? Sounds like what Beau wrote about in his journal…

Frank broke my thoughts continuing, "But you guys probably didn't come here to shoot the breeze with me. So what's up?"

Maxwell responded with crossed arms, "Need to find Jason, you wouldn't know where he is?"

"Hmm, did he do something stupid. If he did I'll serve him up on a silver platter for you guys. Although to be honest, the guy's busy to be causing too much trouble; dedicating temples left and right for all the minor gods and goddesses. Not sure which one it is today; but I know someone who could help us out".

* * *

He turned away and then gestured us to come along with an inviting hand. We followed up the streets behind him. Everyone we walked past waved or bowed their heads at Frank. He really had everyone's respect as a leader of the people.

We made it to a giant building with a massive dome at its top. Zhang pushed the doors in and we followed him inside. I thought it would be pretty dark inside, with no lights inside. But in the middle of the dome was a giant circular hole, shining down light on the floor like a giant spotlight. A figure stood in the glow, reading over something, with her back turned to us.

"Reyna!" Frank called out. She turned around. She had this severe look to her; beautiful in a deadly, unattainable sort of way. I bet her dark brown gaze could cut down guys just as easily as the golden sword at her side. Her long brown hair was tied in a giant braid that cracked at the air like a whip.

Only adding to her image stood a pair of metal dogs who reared up, growling and stood between us and their master: one gold and the other silver. "Aurum, Argentum, heel!" She walked forward with the grace of a queen "Praetor, who are these guests?"

"Reyna, this is Alex and a couple of campers from Camp Half-Blood. Everyone, this is Praetor Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano, Daughter of Bellona; my partner". He stammered and then added "in a fashion, err. What I mean is…"

"Oh Praetor Zhang please" she laughed as she tried to defuse the tension, though the smile never reached her hardened eyes. "We work together, we along with the Senate make the decisions for the wellbeing of New Rome".

"Thank you Reyna, you always were better with explaining than I ever was" Zhang looked relieved. "We need to find Jason; these guys need to ask him about one of the new gods we've been making temples for".

Hmm, Reyna pensively thought to herself. "It has gotten a bit crowded around here with deities ever since he started erecting temples. But if it will keep the peace, then there is no harm in it. He should be by the river, dedicating a shrine for some nameless water god. He should still be there if you get there quick enough".

Zhang beamed a brilliant smile with his almond eyes, he clasped her forearm and added, "Thanks Reyna, you're the best". He then slipped away and got the rest of us to follow him out the doors.

Reyna looked down at her arm and tenderly rubbed the place where Frank held her arm once everything went quiet. "The best" she sighed tiredly with a bit of sadness in her voice. "Right…" she added as she turned away from the doors. Her dogs whined as they tried to grab her attention and nuzzle her; but their Master paid them no heed.

* * *

As we headed down to the river, Cassidy pursed her lips thoughtfully. It was plain as day that Reyna was crushing on her fellow praetor, and Frank was too dense to even realize it. She wished there was something that she could do, but she couldn't even get love to work for herself. Some child of Aphrodite was she...

It wasn't long before we found a way out of the citadel through a small side door. When we stepped through there wasn't much out there: just a barren beach, and a tiny building the size of a shed made of marble with heavy oak doors left wide open. A young guy with light blonde hair checked over every feature of the building.

He turned around when he heard the crunching of the gravel under our feet. He had on a long, white toga that almost touched the ground. A broach with a thunderbolt held the cloth in place on his shoulder. His sky-blue eyes twinkled with energy behind a set of thin glasses. A small scar on his lip gave him a tough guy look that probably made the girls go crazy for him.

"What's all this then?" the guy asked as he approached Frank. "No peeking Praetor, this shrine's not open for business yet;" he added as he clasped the Praetor on the shoulder and then looked at the rest of us.

"Hey Pontifex Maximus, not everything revolves around your temples" Frank good naturedly jibbed as he knocked his elbow into Jason's side. "Listen Jase, these guys are from Camp Half-Blood, they want to ask you some questions".

Jason looked across everyone and his smile wavered and his became stormy when he focused on Nico. "Have you been shadow-travelling Nico? You know you've got to be careful messing around with that" Jason warned looking a bit worried.

Nico's face looked completely pale, I didn't realize just how washed out he was until now. "Brought these guys with me…"

Jason's face became completely serious, "must be serious then. Alright come on in, better have some privacy. Never know who's listening…"

Noting that there wasn't much room inside, Nico decided to remain outside to get some fresh air. And Frank volunteered to stay behind to give more room, (and also keep an eye on weary Nico). There wasn't much inside the shrine. The floor was marble and freezing cold. The blue-stained glass windows made the air seem even colder and gave the room an underwater feel. The walls were covered in plaster and patterned with mosaic, showing a seascape.

"So what's this all about?" He asked as he sat cross-legged on the floor with his chin balanced on his hands.

We explained what happened back at Camp with Lepus and down at the Triple-G Ranch and then mysterious goddess reeking vengeance in the name of the Wild.

"I'll admit, I don't recall running into a nature goddess, at least one asking for a temple. And believe me, I've met a ton of deities, some who haven't been worshiped in hundreds if not thousands of years. But no one like your description".

"And there hasn't been an attack on the town, no monsters or anything like that?" I asked in confusion.

"No" Jason firmly declared. Then he thought to himself for a moment before adding, "Well not really. Nothing like that anyway…"

"What?" Maxwell demanded as he started tapping his foot in impatience as he leaned against the wall.

"Well it's just that… I'm sure it's nothing. It is the end of summer you know; changing seasons and all that. People are bound to catch a cold or two here or there". Jason smiled trying to defuse his idea. But then he wilted a bit as he sat there and brought a hand up to his forehead and rubbed it. "Oh Gods…" he groaned as closed his eyes.

"Are you alright man?" I asked, I think the cold was getting to him.

"Fine" he insisted. "Just had a feeling wash over me, I'm sure it's nothing. All these temple dedications back to back, really wear a guy down you know?" He started getting up before his eyes rolled back in his head and he crashed forward to the temple floor in a faint.

Everyone rushed forward. Cassidy placed a hand tenderly on Jason's head and gasped, "oh gods he's burning up!"

Maxwell reached forward and hefted the guy on his shoulder and we got him out of the shrine. "Got to get him to an infirmary" he added with a determined look.

We burst out from the shrine and Frank and Nico stared at us in confusion. "What in Hades happened?" Nico asked with worry.

"He just upped and collapsed and he's burning up" Maxwell replied as he hefted the guy on his shoulder.

"Not another one" Frank replied darkly as he harshly gestured to the doors of the Citadel. "Come on, we got to get him to the hospital".


	32. House Call

**Chapter 31: House Call**

Frank lead the way through the Citadel, taking alley ways and side streets; avoiding most of the foot traffic going through town. The few people we ran into; Frank gave a stern glare and they immediately turned away. He tried to keep Jason from view but he started moaning on Maxwell's shoulder as his face started turning red from fever.

"Why are we taking all these side streets? We should head straight to the hospital Frank" I explained aloud.

Frank fired a dark glare at me that told me in no uncertain terms to 'shut up'.

After about twenty minutes of weaving through the dark alleyways we made it to the back of a marble building covered with dust. A dull wooden door stood closed with a sign, with a staff with a single snake coiled around it, hanging over the door.

Frank didn't bother knocking and opened the door, gesturing us to slip in and then quickly closed the door behind us.

I took in the room. There were dark blue curtains splitting the place into smaller, personal spaces. I could hear people coughing from behind the cloth. One of the curtains fluttered lightly as someone walked behind it. Frank stepped up and pulled it aside revealing a bed with a young girl huddled under layers of blankets. She shivered with her eyes closed tight in a fitful sleep and her cheeks burning up.

An older man with curly platinum blonde hair pointed a temperature gun at the girl's forehead and looked at the reading with crossed eyes. He jotted down the reading on a clipboard with a sour look on his face.

"Tristan" Frank interrupted the guy.

"Whah!" Tristan jumped a foot in the air, his eyes went wide while he dropped his plastic clipboard with a clatter on the wooden floor. "Praetor Zhang please don't do that! My heart can only take so much." Somehow the cap sitting crookedly on his head with a caduceus made him seem even more flighty.

"You're a doctor, I'm sure you could fix it Trist. Anyway we have _another_ one".

The doctor quickly walked up and gestured Maxwell to lay Jason out in an empty bed. When Maxwell backed away and Tristan could take a good look he gasped from surprise and then pinched his nose. "Blasted all! Oh Gods not Jason".

Frank looked solemn as his gaze looked to the ground.

"Praetor" Tristan looked like he was working himself up into a frenzy, with his hands up and twitching and his words slipping from his mouth faster and faster. "I don't know why you don't tell everyone what is happening. This is the sixth case of whatever malady this is. I can't treat it… Why this has the makings of a pandemic!" The old man started running his fingers through his curls nervously.

"Exactly" Frank countered harshly, barely keeping himself from flying off the handle. "You can't treat it. And we don't know where it's coming from. There's no point in raising the alarm. The whole town would go up in a panic!"

The old man snorted as he crossed his arms. "I know. It's just that I hate this. I'm a healer, but I can't heal this" he gestured over Jason with a shaking hand. He then noticed the rest of us and barked in complaint, "oh no! New faces… Praetor we should at least control the inflow and outflow of people in the Citadel".

"They're fine I'm sure. They've just arrived from Camp Half-Blood. I highly doubt they're the reason for this".

I introduced my friends and then held my hand out, "Alex Conecke".

Tristan stared at my hand blearily, as if I had some flesh-eating disease. "Well that's all well and good" he exclaimed as he turned away from me. "But names will hardly do us any good if we all end up slumbering or worse…"

Shayla pouted as she came up to the cranky man, "what's wrong exactly? Maybe I can help, my Dad's Apollo" she pipped.

He towered over her and rolled his eyes before replying, "so is mine half-pint. And fat lot of good it's doing me. I'm far older and experienced than you".

"And he's _modest_ too" Cassidy harshly whispered into my ear.

The old guy turned to glare at her. "I'm old, but I'm _not_ deaf child". He sighed and sagged tiredly. "Praetor I have no energy to waste quarreling with children" He turned his glance to Shayla. "If you want to make yourself useful; here's what I can tell you".

He went over to Jason and tucked him, trying to make him as comfortable as possible. "As near I can tell it's some sort of disease, not a spell, believe me, the children of Hecate would catch even the smallest hint of sorcery and mist. And so far, nothing".

"The progression is fairly straightforward" he waved his hand over Jason as an example. "Subject is healthy until shortly before total collapse, preceded only by a quickly worsening dizzy spell., headaches and concludes with a faint accompanied with a fever. The patient begins coughing after twenty-four hours, growing worse over time. No one's died yet, but I haven't been able to rouse any of my patients and I fear the worst is yet to come".

"At this point, I just want to figure out what the source is, to try and stop further infection".

"Is it contagious?" Shayla asked as she looked down at Jason breaking out in a sweat.

"At the moment I don't believe so. None of the patients live near each other or interact commonly between one another. And I have been interacting with the first patient ever since she was brought in two days ago. To no ill effect on myself".

"Two days?" I asked concerned, everyone else also picked up on that fact.

"Well yes" Tristan added, a bit confused by our expressions. "That would be her" he pointed to the young girl he was tending when we walked in. "Ellie Mae Thompson, a descendant of Apollo. She's a native, never set foot out of town. I just don't understand" the Doctor complained in an irritated voice.

"It's simple. We follow what these people were doing before they got sick and find out what hit them. Trace the infection back to its source" Shayla declared as if she just found out how to achieve world peace.

"Ah how did _I_ not think of that. Oh yes, my hands were full as is keeping these folks alive. But if you want to have a go at it looking, all power to you. Now" He declared as he brought an arm behind the Praetor and another around the rest of us and guided us toward the door.

"Out with the lot of you. My patients need sleep" and with that he slammed the door closed on our butts.

Cassidy groaned as she rubbed her butt tenderly and stared back at the door like a kicked puppy. "He's certainly got good bedside manners".

Frank shrugged his shoulders as he started walking away, "he's really a good guy. Tristan's just really worked up over this. Well I can take you to the Thompson House. It's on the way back to the Senate. I think her parents will be home".

It wasn't that far away from the hospital. Frank left us in front of a house with yellow stucco and then he looked at the watch on his wrist. "Gods Reyna will skin me alive! I've left her hanging too long. Good luck to you guys". He ruined his image of being a stern, calm leader by racing down the street with his purple cloak flying up behind him like Superman while he had a panicked look on his face.


	33. Apollo Smintheus

**Chapter 32: Apollo Smintheus**

After knocking on the door of the Thompsons, they welcomed us into their home. I don't know if it was because one of the Praetors dropped us off or they're just that welcoming with everyone, but we rolled with it. They guided us over to a patio made from marble mosaic and gave us some cheese and crackers while we sat down on one of the stone benches.

"So" Mrs. Thompson asked after our bellies were filled. "What brings you to our house?"

"You see, we wanted to ask you about your daughter. If you knew anything about how she got sick" I replied.

The Thompsons shared a saddened look between them before replying. "If only we knew. My father was a doctor and I learned quite a bit from him, even though I ended up becoming a musician" Mrs. Thompson conceded. "I've never seen anything like it. And quite frankly I'm afraid for Ellie."

"Now sweetheart, she's in perfect hands. If anyone can figure out what's the problem and fix it, it's old Tristan" Mr. Thompson patted his wife on the back comfortingly. "It is a bit unnerving that he's never seen any cases like hers".

I looked over at my friends and they all looked as surprised as me. I guess there's some serious patient confidentiality going on here.

"Was she doing anything special a few days back?" Shayla asked naively.

"Not that we're aware of" Mrs. Thompson shrugged her shoulders helplessly. "She's never been outside Camp Jupiter before. She's not one to explore much. More of a homebody than anything else. Likes to read and write. I think she plans to become a writer someday when she finishes school". Though Mrs. Thompson said 'when' it sounded more distressingly like 'if'.

"Well if anything comes to mind, please let us know. The 'good' doctor" Cassidy added sarcastically, "would want to know…"

She didn't even get to finish her train of thought when a little white mouse scurried out from the shrubbery; ran past her feet and up to a little alter with cheese and small bits of food on it. She shrieked as hopped up onto the bench and looked at the rodent with wide eyes filled with panic. "Gah, a mouse!"

The Thompsons looked completely at ease at the mouse staring at them, still as a statue, before resuming its meal, nibbling on a bit of cheese. "Calm down, it's just a white mouse. They're good luck. We leave a bit of food for them on the alter so that they'll come grace our home".

I could just see the gears in Cassidy's brain grinding to a halt as she twitched on the bench. "But it's a mouse."

Mr. Thompson shrugged his shoulders, "so? We are descendants of Apollo, one of his titles is Apollo Smintheus, Apollo of the Rats. In the old days, he brought plague on the deserving and healed those who too deserved. They are servants of Apollo. Most everyone in town has an alter to them, and we've never had problems before".

"But, but, bu…" Cassidy's brain had overloaded and I gently coaxed her from her seat as we headed for the door.

"Well thank you for inviting us in and telling us about Apollo. We hope Ellie feels better soon" I told them. They nodded their heads and slowly closed the door behind us.

"Mice, good luck?" Maxwell looked at the Thompson house oddly.

I shrugged my shoulders as replied, "I've heard weirder things about mice and rats. In India, they're sacred because they carry around their elephant god of wealth. And the Chinese made rats one of the animals in the zodiac because it managed to get across a river because it was crafty and rode on the back of an ox".

"But still" Cassidy shuddered at the thought, "letting rats in the house, that doesn't sound smart. Especially for a descendent of Apollo I would think".

I crossed my arms defensively, "I thought you liked animals. You liked Lepus the Rabbit well enough".

"Gods you people won't ever let me live that down" she hissed as ran her fingers through her hair and then stormed away.

"Cassie come on, I didn't mean it like that. It's just you like cute, furry things. Mice are cute" I added trying to calm her down.

If anything, I think, I think I set her off more. "Not mice and especially not rats!" She counted off on her fingers to emphasize her point. "They're dirty and Gods know where they've been scurrying about. They mess around with your food and poop in it. And to top it off, one bit me when I was five; so, that's three strikes out. So, rats I don't like okay?!"

Me and the others just nodded our heads like bobble-heads, trying to calm her down before she flew off her handle.

* * *

As we investigated the other houses where people ended up getting sick and fainting we noticed a common thread linking them all together: an alter to Apollo Smintheus. Not that that was a strong lead, because as the Thompsons pointed out; many Romans thought the white rodents were good luck and had alters set out for them. And most of these people never reported getting sick.

We'd been walking for a few hours and were getting a bit tired. We had looped through town and made it to the Roman Forum where the main temples were dedicated. Shayla skipped her way to her father's temple and threw open the doors and took a break inside.

When we walked in, carved in marble and glistening in the glow of a skylight was a statue of Apollo. Six feet tall, with long, straight hair, and an intense gaze and smile; he stood there with his arms and legs bulging with tense and toned muscles; as his foot squashed down on a squirming snake. I looked down at his crotch and rolled my eyes at what I saw, I think the Romans had to have exaggerated a few features.

Shayla slowly walked around the statue with a critical eye before she chimed with a blunt response, "I met Dad. He's not that tall, and his hair's curly and he's not that buff. And why does it look like they stuffed a sausage down his pants?"

Maxwell snorted with a grin while Cassidy gasped with a hand over her mouth. I laughed lamely as I guided her away from the statue, "who knows, the less said the better". Demoted god or not, I wouldn't want Apollo pissed off at me…

Turned out it was easy to distract Shayla from the statue though. In the back of the empty temple; a ceramic bowl rattled on the floor, as if something were struggling underneath it. Shayla walked right up to it and went to pick it up. "Uhm Shayla I wouldn't do that…" Cassidy began.

But the little girl had already picked up the bowl. And in an instant, a black blur rushed out from underneath and lunged at Shayla. The little creature jumped out from underneath and tackled into her, who fell over in surprise. A black rat, with beady red eyes, hissed before scampering off into her clothes.

Quickly Shayla got up trying to shake the rodent from out of her clothes, looking as if she were doing a souped-up version of the hooky poky while Cassidy screamed at the top of her lungs. Shayla threw her arms up and spun them around like propeller blades and kicked her legs with the enthusiasm of a Can Can Girl before the rat went flying out of her pant leg.

She panted as she crashed onto the floor with sweat dripping from her face, "Well that's thanks for you!" she hollered at the black rat.

"Are you okay?" Cassidy asked, looking a bit green on the face. "You had a rat in your pants".

"What do you think?" Shayla quipped snarkily in a huff. "I want a shower. NOW!"

* * *

We headed back to the infirmary, now was as good a time to tell Tristan what we found out, little as it was. And a chance for Shayla to wash away her experience with the rat.

As Shayla washed up in the shower in the curtained stall in the doctor's office; Tristan condescendingly replied, "oh what happened? Did the little one have a tumble, into a puddle?"

"The little one can hear you, you know" she complained through the shower curtain and scrubbed at her skin, tenderly cleaning the scratches she got from the rat clawing around under her clothes. "I do not take kindly to being treated like a baby. For your info, I got tackled by one of your rats".

"Nonsense" Tristan immediately dismissed her words. Barely paying attention to Shayla and the rest of us as he took Jason's temperature and replaced the warm rag on his forehead with a cool compress. "The rats in the City are raised around people. They are occasionally a bit too curious for their own good, but they are hardly vicious".

"Tell that to the black one that attacked me" she replied as she turned off the water, wrapped a towel around her and stepped out of the stall, displaying the scratches on her arms and legs for Tristan to see. "It seemed pretty pissed off to me".

Tristan had a wide eye as if a bit surprised, "surely you mean white? We don't have black rats in the city".

"No, black, as night. It was certainly not white" she rhymed in an irritated voice as she went into a curtained off bed and got changed, away from our eyes.

"Oh dear" Tristan gasped when he realized something. He started pacing in front of us nervously, "oh dear oh dear. I think I know what's wrong. Shayla my dear I need to take your temperature". He pulled the curtain away just when she pulled on her shirt.

"Knock, why don't you Doc. I feel fine". Shayla huffed as she turned away from him.

"So did Jason until just before he collapsed and look how he's doing" Tristan gestured with his head toward his groaning, sleeping patient in the bed next door. Tristan reached over and felt her forehead and then frowned, "just as I feared".

Cassidy checked her too and added, "you're burning up Shayla!"

"The rest of you" he demanded as he quickly took our temperatures, "perfectly normal…" He turned to fire Shayla a deep gaze, "what did you do different from the others?"

"It was the rat" I interrupted. "It jumped on her, scratched her up. It ran off before it could jump onto the rest of us. We never touched it".

"Black rat" Tristan mused darkly. "They say in the old days the crow was once white as snow. When the crow, old gossip, whispered into Apollo's ear that one of his many lovers was cheating on him; he had cursed the bird and turned its feathers black as coal. The rat was just the same. White with innocence, but turned black by the burden it carried… plague". The doctor went over to Ellie and threw the heavy blanket aside as a weak, bad smell filled the air. Little black boils started popping out from under the girl's milky white skin.

"Black Plague" Tristan mumbled ominously as he replaced the blanket back on top of the girl. "Of course, I should have realized it sooner.

"But you've been giving them ambrosia and nectar, right? They should have gotten better anyway. Why is not getting cured?" Shayla wondered as a bad feeling settled into the pit of our stomachs.

"This is no ordinary malady. It resembles black plague, but this is something divinely delivered" Tristan concluded as he started grabbing packets of herbs and began to mix them together. "A black rat only adds to my suspicions. That was no ordinary rat. It may have been a deliverer of divine plague, the very one bestowed by Apollo upon the Greek camp when they first attacked Troy millennia ago, oh the irony".

"But Dad couldn't have done it. He's mortal, he can't summon plague. He can barely charm a single arrow to cause hay fever!" Shayla complained indignantly as she stomped her feet.

"Little one, I don't think it was Father who sent the rats. But it doesn't matter" Tristan conceded as he returned to his foul-smelling mix. "Now that I know what I'm dealing with here, I can attempt to make a cure. But it will take time. Something we may not have. If these are the Rats of Apollo, then sooner or later someone else is going to get sick and that's not the worst part".

"Didn't plague start jumping from person to person after a while, not even needing a rat to spread the disease". Tristan nodded yes to my answer. "Oh crap, that'd be a pandemic, wouldn't it? Well we got to tell the Praetors, the Senate, everyone. We need to find these rats before everyone starts getting sick".

"Well then" Tristan briskly replied as he forced Shayla into a bed when she started getting a bit wobbly on her feet and tucked her in. "Get to it young ones".


	34. I Bust into the Senate

**Chapter 33: I Bust into the Senate**

You know how it's common sense to knock before you come barging into someone's place? It's not only polite, it can save you plenty of grief down the line…

We threw open the doors of the Senate and crashed into the place, right in the middle of a meeting.

Frank paused in mid-speech, staring at us in confusion and with surprise. Reyna on the other hand looked like she swallowed a lemon and ready to kill us for interrupting the proceedings.

"What is the meaning of this?" One of the senators asked as he fidgeted in his seat. Annoyance plastered on his face as his flab jiggled in place.

"It's plague. The Doctor's figured it out. Divine plague!" The room went dead.

"Uhm guys, x-nay on the lague-pay" Frank hissed under his breath, as he gestured with both hands for us to turn it down. Although to be honest anyone could have heard him. It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

"Praetor Zhang, Praetor Ramirez-Arellano what is he talking about" the tubby lawman asked nervously. "Does he mean to imply that there is plague within the Citadel?"

Reyna calmly took a breath, and paused. The moment seemed tense enough, you could cut through the air with a knife. "Regretfully, yes". Within moments, all the senators threw their hands up and started shouting at one another. Some of them bunched up their togas and tied them around their mouths. Some of them grew white and nervously looked around. And a few started screaming at each other trying to pin the blame on someone. "Praetor, why were we not informed of this?"

Frank took over trying to take some of the heat away from Reyna. "It was by my command. My decision was based on the logic that several cases of a mysterious disease had cropped up. However, the doctors could not determine what it was, let alone what caused it or how to treat it. We kept silent to prevent panic in the streets, waiting until new information came to light. I trust something has come up…" Frank looked at me like he was nursing the biggest headache on the planet.

"Yeah, just got back from Doc Tristan. He says it's some divinely souped-up version of the black plague. Something like what Apollo sent on the Greeks when they first attacked Troy".

The senators gaped like dying fish, "but people died from that plague. Hundreds, if not thousands! What about ourselves? How many are sick and dying even as we speak?" The man nervously twisted his toga in his hand.

"Currently only five casualties in the last two days. The doctor is at work tending to the stricken and crafting a remedy to deal with this. I am certain the problem will be rectified in no time" Reyna announced more confidently than I was feeling for sure. "In the meantime we must root out how the infection is spreading within the walls. If it is plague, I fear it may have something to do with the rats. We must find their nest and exterminate it".

Based on Reyna's steely expression, if I were a rat, I'd figure my odds weren't looking too good right about then...

* * *

She quickly delegated the work that needed to be done. She left the Senators in charge of readying a message regarding the plague and warning people to refrain from setting up alters to the rats. Me, along with everyone from Camp Half-Blood and Reyna with Frank headed over to the hospital to figure out how Tristan was doing with a cure. The news was looking a bit grim to be honest.

Tristan ran his fingers nervously through his platinum blond curls. "I I can't tell what to do!" he added in a defeated voice. "This disease does not respond to any of the traditional remedies for plague. Di Immortales, I've even tried modern antibiotics and threw in a couple of prayers to Apollo and Asclepius and nothing!"

"Are Shayna and the others getting worse?" Cassidy asked in quiet voice.

Tristan's shoulders sank with a sigh, "I can't take any credit for it. Shayla, the poor girl, is still conscious. But barely lucid. The fever has begun to cloud her judgment. However, I fear it is a matter of time before she falls unconscious and there won't be anything I can do to rouse her".

"High-ho the dario oh, the farmer in the dell" Shayla quietly mumbled to herself with squinting eyes and rosy cheeks as she peeked out from under the blanket.

I stooped down next to her and patted her on the shoulder, "I'm sorry Shay. I shouldn't have brought you here. You would have been fine if you stayed back at camp".

Maxwell gruffly replied with his arms crossed, "can't think like that man. She would have done anything to come along anyway. No point beating yourself up over it".

"Horsie!" Shayla drunkenly chuckled to herself.

"Horses? What are you going on about child?" Tristan asked as he replaced the warm rag on her forehead with a cool, wet one. "There are no horses here".

"I want to ride the pony-man!" Shayla inconsolably complained before she uneasily fell asleep.

"Pony-man?" Frank asked out loud.

"I think she means Chiron. Why would she say something like that?" I asked as I stared at everyone.

"Who can say?" Tristan conceded tiredly as he slumped into a squeaky, old, wheelie chair. "The mind is fragile thing. She's probably not even aware of what she's saying the poor dear".

"Or maybe she does. Chiron, isn't he a medic? Maybe he has an idea of what to do?" Frank considered.

"Praetor" he replied as if he were scolding a child. "I would like to think I had considered any possibility that such a creature could have come up with" Tristan complained condescendingly.

Reyna shut him up with a well-aimed glare. "Well we have yet to see any results from you yet. It can't hurt asking him". She went over to the shower stall and turned on the fine spray. She threw open the curtains, splashing water all over the wooden floors; much to the Doctor's annoyance. His complaints didn't get any attention as Reyna reached into her pocket and threw a golden drachma into the steaming water. "Oh Goddess Iris of the Rainbow, please accept this offering. We seek contact with Chiron of Camp Half-Blood".

The mist went from a grey haze and hissed for a second before a familiar room appeared in the mist. Chiron sat at the fireplace, while Seymour staring sadly at the man in the wheelchair. He whined from his plaque on the wall, intently staring at the half-eaten sausage on the plate. "Oh very well then. It's not like I'm going to finish it off". Chiron tossed the morsel and the leopard's tongue reached out wrapped around it before swallowing in one bit. The trophy purred contently before starting over Chiron's shoulder at us and hissing menacingly.

Chiron turned around and almost hopped out of his chair, he image flickered and went black and white with static. "Di Immortales! A bit of advanced warning would be appreciated. I am an old man you know".

"You don't look a day over three-thousand Horseman" I joked with him, as he stared at me with a dull face.

"Was there a particular reason for this message Alex, or should I hang up now?" Chiron raised a hand, ready to disperse the weak connection.

Reyna glared at me before nodding respectfully at Chiron. "There's been an unfortunate development shortly after your campers arrived…"

Chiron sat there deep in thought as he listened to Reyna outline the situation, with Frank chiming in on occasion to add a few extra details or for clarification. By the end of it, Chiron looked as if he'd aged ten years and a few greys started peeking through his dark brown locks. "Most distressing news, we had hoped that we were merely overly cautious when we headed your way to inform you of what happened here. It would seem to have been the correct course".

"Is there anything we can do Chiron? Anything you know of, that can treat this? You've been around a long time, no insult intended. You had to have seen or heard something?" I asked, hopeful for something.

Chiron looked tense as he sat there trying to recall something that could help. "The divine plague was last used by Apollo when he struck against the Greeks in the Trojan War. I was not at that conflict; it was a terrible time. Many people died there, including pupils who I once taught and cared deeply for. The plague petered out on its own, but only after many who were struck with it had perished. As far as I know, the only way to heal it, was if Apollo himself took the plague from you. No mortal cure would work".

"Having half the populace succumbing to this plague is not acceptable. Surely there must be something. Perhaps someone else may have a clue for a cure, if not yourself?" Reyna asked.

Chiron frowned as he got up from his chair and started pacing back and forth on the wooden floor, his hoofs clip-clopping as he walked in and out of view. He paused and hand a slightly hopeful glimmer in his eyes as the Iris Message began to flicker on Chiron's end "I may know someone… who might have an idea… wouldn't get your hopes up… Head back to camp as soon as possible… See you soon…" Chiron's voice echoed and stretched as if travelling through a tunnel before the message suddenly cut out completely.

"Blasted messages!" Tristan complained as he shook from annoyance and his cap slipped on his head. He instinctively fixed it before sighing tiredly. "If only we could use a telephone line, so much more reliable. If only those cursed beasts outside weren't attracted like moths to a flame". He went silent as his head nodded and he slumped forward.

"Doctor?" Reyna asked in a concerned voice. "Are you well?" She placed her hand on his shoulder and locked eyes with him; but his were closed and he was dead to the world. "Oh no, not you Doctor… He's out cold. Nurse!" A woman came rushing down the hallway. "See to it that he is made comfortable. Dr. Tristan has become infected with the plague". The nurse scrambled to help Frank put the old man into bed and cover him up. "We best leave at once" Reyna insisted as she stormed out to the waiting room.

* * *

"Are you well enough to shadow travel back to Half-Blood Hill Nico?" she asked, though it sounded more like a command.

Nico's tired eyes his from view under his dark bangs while he zipped up his aviator jacket and pushed himself off from the wall he reclined on. "Sure".

From the setting sun, shadows crept across the floor and the walls. Nico grabbed my hand and we formed a human chain. His hands felt like ice. He weakly smiled as he threw himself into the shadow on the wall; and in an instant the darkness swallowed us whole.

Within seconds I noticed something was different. There was a groaning come from next to me. And Nico's grip on my hand weakened and then all at once, he let go.

Everyone started screaming as we flew off into directions into the void. I thought that this would be it. I'd be doomed to tumble through the shadows for all eternity. Well at least I could become a thinker, nothing to mess up my concentration.

Suddenly something grabbed my wrist and I stopped tumbling forward and lurched to the side. The darkness broke as a room of stone blocks materialized all around, like something out of a dungeon in a medieval castle.

After I shook off the cold feeling of shadow travel, I remember the hand gripping my arm. I looked down and followed its arm back to its body. A man stared at me deeply, as if trying to see through me. His hair was black, as were his eyes. His skin an unhealthy looking ivory color, but he seemed toned and fit. He seemed to radiate a feeling of angst that made me want to turn tail and curl up into a ball.

I had the weirdest sense of déjà vu looking at this guy. He spoke in a deep voice, "Twice before I have sent you on your way to the Land of the Living. Know that I cannot intercede on your behalf ever again". His words rang out like an ominous warning.

With his free hand, he waved across one of the stone walls. The blocks rumbled as they slipped past each other throwing dust up into the air. When he thought, the opening was large enough, he gave a big shove on my back and I fell through the hole in the wall.

It's hard, keeping track of time. Felt like minutes, but by the time I made it through the other side, the sky was speckled with stars and the crickets were lazily chirping in the distance. The sounds of groaning people filled the air, and I guessed I wasn't the only one who made it through. Hopefully everyone else did too.

* * *

I'm not sure if it was the knock to the back of my head as I crashed onto the ground; but as I stared up, looming over me was the face of a beautiful woman staring down at me. A peace medallion dangled down from her neck glinting in a kaleidoscope of colors. Out of sight I could hear the growling of large animals, lions maybe? Was this the troublesome Lady of the Lions causing all the trouble from behind the scenes?

She brought a gentle hand to the side of my face and brushed my cheek. "Yo man, snap out of it. I don't have long. I got a splitting headache like you wouldn't believe…" The woman grimaced in pain as the medallion flickered into the shape of a set of wooden panpipes. Her charming smile morphed into a bitter sneer of disgust for an instant before she changed back to the way she was.

"Opff, head rush" she complained to herself. "Dude listen up, you're racing against the clock. Not sure how long I can keep copacetic and mellowed-out you feel me?"

I grumbled trying to clear my head, "who are you?" I hoarsely whispered.

"Mother Rhea" she tightly whispered with eyes closed, her forehead wrinkled as if deep in thought. "Seek out my great-granddaughter, the unfortunate healer. She has a wicked cure all. But careful, she's a few eggs short of a dozen and a bit err delicate".

I closed my eyes and shook my head, this wasn't making any sense. I opened my eyes, but the woman was gone. "Find the cure, before it is too late. Nature is reeling, and I'm divided. Am I mother of all, even mankind, or solely Nature? Never was one for making choices… Heed my words!" The voice faded away as I fell back asleep.


	35. Hope

**Chapter 34: Hope**

The next day I woke up, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. Kayla, Shayla's sister had been watching over us, left for a moment to get Chiron. By the time he wheeled himself in, everyone had managed to get up. Reyna got a hold of her wits and then proceeded to explain the developing crisis happening across the country. I offered my vision of the mysterious Lady of the Lions. "She called herself Rhea, but she reminded me of how the Gods acted during the Second War. Her form kept shifting and her personality was swinging with it. She said we need to find her great granddaughter, the unfortunate healer or something like that".

Reyna glared at me with her arms crossed, "sorry, the details are a bit hazy".

"It makes sense, in its own way" Chiron conceded as he pulled out a drachma. "We will need consul. Preferably from someone who had been there at the time… Oh Iris, accept this offering, contact Calypso at Waystation, Indiana!" He gently flipped the coin into the mist of the shower; only for it to suddenly hurtle back and smack Chiron on the head.

The voice of a woman rang out like ghostly whisper, "your call did not go through, Iris messaging is down, please call and try again later…"

"Di Immortales" Chiron grumbled as he rubbed his forehead. "That was a first. I'll admit IM has been a bit tenuous of late; but I've never had a call rejected like that before". He wheeled himself to the next room with a giant desk. When Chiron pushed himself up to it, he gently knocked out a code on the top of the table. After a minute of carefully timed knocked, the top of the desk lifted and stuck against the wall. The bottom of the desk rose and on a shelf sat an ancient-looking computer monitor. The others gawked at the clunky thing in surprise.

"Chiron" Cassidy looked at the computer with suspicion. "I thought the use of technology was forbidden in camp. You know, monsters and all that?"

Chiron awkwardly began typing instruction into the keyboard, one key at a time. "Normally yes, however for emergencies we have alternative lines of communications available to us. Time is of the essence".

Shayla huffed impatiently as she jumped onto Chiron's lap and begin quickly clacking away. The monitor flickered on as a dial-up connection began to ring out. "Gods Chiron you were going so slow".

"Huh never knew you were a tech wiz Shay" I responded.

"Mom" the word spoke volumes as she loaded the start-up screen full of ancient looking apps. "Now what do you want me to do?"

"Hit Skype if you please" Chiro asked politely.

"Uhm this thing looks like it was invented before Skype and where's the camera?" Maxwell grumbled as he brought his face close to the thick glass screen. Right after Shayla hit the blue icon, the screen went black before a mirror image of Maxwell's mug showed up. He jumped back in alarm, before he admired himself in pixelated perfection. "Huh".

Chiron took over and dragged the dot cursor over to the name Waystation and gave it a couple of clicks. The app rang out three times before someone picked up on the other side. "Hello?" a girl replied in an uncertain voice, the screen on her end remained black.

"This is Camp Half-Blood, we need to speak to Calypso. If you can put her on, please do so" Shayla asked with a couplet.

"Just a moment, I'm trying to get this device to work". The girl sounded like she was eagerly clicking the mouse, followed by something shaking and then crashing to the floor. "Won't be long" the girl replied sheepishly as she placed something firmly down on the table. The black screen flickered and lo and behold the girl's face appeared. Whoa…

The girl had this timeless beauty about her, sort of life a daughter of Hebe. Except hers radiated with a deeper power. Her golden-brown eyes shimmered in the light like polished tiger's eye. He light brown hair framed her head and fell past her shoulders with golden highlights. Even underneath her mechanic's denim overalls and smudges of motor oil; there was no disguising her good looks.

"Uhm did I die and wake up in heaven, because you must be an angel" I mumbled tongue-tied.

Maxwell rolled his eyes and socked me in the shoulder hard enough to leave it throbbing in pain. "Rein it in Romeo, she's unavailable" he replied with a stern glare toward the screen.

Cassidy sighed tiredly to herself, 'possessive aren't we Maxwell…?'

The girl brought a hand in front of her mouth and shook a bit as if silently chuckling. "That line got old hundreds of years ago. But it is still sweet of you to say". I looked up at her with wide eyes.

'Did she say hundreds?'

"No, it's not" a guy's voice crackled from behind her. A skinny twig of a guy with a mechanic's belt walked into view and possessively wrapped an arm around the girl and brought her comfortably close. "And quit making googly eyes with Calypso. You heard Max, she's taken" he added as if his body language wasn't clear enough. Calypso smiled serenely as she moved in close and gave the guy a peck on the lips before his temper washed away.

"Get a room Valdez…" Maxwell harrumphed with his arms crossed as he shuddered. "No one needs to see you start playing tonsil hockey".

"Ehh you're just jellin' Max. Get yourself a girlfriend. Then you'll be too busy to watch" Leo jokingly replied and ended with another kiss with Caly.

Max's eyes grimaced before he hunched his shoulders, tightened his hands into bone-white fists and then stormed out of the infirmary seething like a boiling pot.

Calypso snorted at her boyfriend and crossed her arms. Leo shrugged, "What I do, what I say?"

"Idiot" she helplessly shrugged as she shook her head. "But, my idiot… In any case, what brings you on here? Wouldn't it have been easier to have sent an Iris Message?" Reyna explained the situation happening in California; followed by events leading up to the Skype call.

"Goodness" Calypso slumped in her chair by the end of the story. "What a story. I'm not sure what I could say or do. I used to have a fair bit of magic, but I lost that when I left Ogygia. I'm not sure what I could do to help, but I can at least listen…"

* * *

Reyna sat at one end of the long table in the room. Her hands set like steeple as she stared intently down at the other end, where Chiron sat in his wheelchair with Calypso on the computer to his right side.

Reyna began to speak as if laying out demands, "understand, we have tried everything we can think of to heal this plague. But short of Apollo gracing us with his presence, I fear we are lost".

Calypso looked over her shoulder with a scowl on her face before it vanished with a frown, "I'm afraid that's not likely to happen anytime soon. Oh Demoted One, has problems of his own". A huff rang out in the background followed by some quiet complaining.

Chiron frowned as lines of tension deeply etched into his face. "It is an unfortunate coincidence, and I wish it could be helped otherwise. However, what you suggested earlier from us Praetor is too much to ask".

"What's going on?" I asked. "Am I missing something here?"

Reyna coolly replied with her eyes closed after she took a calming breath. "Chiron and I are discussing possible lines of action to contend with the plague. If something divine is required to contend with this. I suggested that we use the Golden Fleece that Camp Half-Blood currently possesses".

"Golden Fleece?" I asked in confusion. "You mean the one hanging on Thalia's Tree?"

"Yes" Chiron added. He explained with the expertise of a teacher. "In the past, there was a golden ram blessed with godly blood. When it was killed, its pelt was saved and found to have healing properties".

"Anyone who touched the Fleece could be healed by its power" Reyna added in agreement.

"So you want to take the Fleece to California and use it to heal everyone there? That sounds like a great idea" I thought aloud. Chiron and Grover proceeded to glare at me with laser intense focus. "Or not… what am I missing?"

"What the Praetor forgot to mention how and why the Fleece came to be at camp in the first place" Grover bleated in annoyed voice. "When I was on my search for Pan, I thought I stumbled onto him when I was down in Florida. I was tracking down a scent… Turned out it was a Cyclops using the Fleece like a satyr magnet to lure us in and eat us. Blaaah" he bleated nervously as his hooves clattered on the floor. "Some of the Campers came after me and needed the Fleece to heal Thalia's Tree. It got poisoned and it was dying, it wasn't going to last much longer without help".

"But that's the tree that powers the boundary around camp. When the rabbits were chewing on it, the barrier started cracking. If Thalia's Tree died completely…" I considered uncertainly.

"The barrier would have collapsed" Grover shivered in his seat. "When the Fleece was brought to camp, the tree returned to life and the barrier was up at full strength. But if the Fleece ever left camp…" Grover began.

Chiron concluded, "the tree would soon after die".

Reyna rhythmically strummed her fingers on the table as she switched her focus across the three of us. "I have an entire city to protect and keep healthy. Your Fleece is what I need to accomplish this. New Rome would be more than happy to have you, should Thalia's Tree not survive the Fleece's removal. However, we desperately require it". I could hear the message loud and clear in her voice, 'I will play nice, however at the end of the day, I will take what I need at all cost…'

'Eh hmm…' All eyes turned to the monitor where Calypso had been staring at the exchange deep in thought. "If I may interject?" she demurely requested. All voices went silent and allowed her to speak. She sat at the table at Waystation with her arms open wide and her hands expressing her emotions. "I agree that a divine disease requires a divine cure. The Golden Fleece may provide such a cure, but at the expense of the camp's safety. I do have an alternative that is worth mentioning. Alex's dream jogged an old memory from my time interned on Ogygia.

The Gods would occasionally visit me, tell me happenings occurring in the world I was forbade from ever seeing again. During one such instance, Apollo himself came down from the sky as he dragged the sun behind him. Believe you and me, I was not thrilled with his radiance torching my flower beds…" she grumbled to herself as she glared at someone off screen. A quiet sorry crackled on the speakers before Calypso swatted the point aside with one of her hands.

"During his short visit while he attempted to court me, he told me of an achievement one of his granddaughters had accomplished. While the Golden Apples of the Hesperides could grant you immortality, they could not heal you of disease and suffering. This granddaughter, had endeavored to concoct the ultimate cure, capable of healing all pain and suffering. It could even grant you immortality, for a time... The girl was quite proud and named the miracle after herself, Panacea".

Reyna's eyes went wide from realization and looked at Calypso with newfound hope. Calypso continued, "The only thing she didn't consider was all the attention she attracted for developing this miracle. Eventually it got too much for the poor girl and she fled for parts unknown". Calypso shrugged her shoulders, "I know it is a bit of a cold lead, but I figured it was an option worth mentioning".

"No" Reyna countered as she stood up and threw her cape behind her and began to pace in front of the fireplace. "Lady Calypso, you are wise".

"Pardon?" She looked a bit confused. "I fail to see how this could be of any help now. Apollo recounted this story thousands of years ago. I doubt he even knows where Panacea has cloistered herself". She turned to look to her side, "do you?" she asked. After a few moments of silence, she rolled her eyes in annoyance, "I thought not…"

"But I do" she replied as she turned to face us. Her body looking completely black as the fire lit behind her. "When I was young, I lived with my sister on an island with a sorceress, Circe." Calypso nodded with understanding. "Mistress Circe would craft potions to enchant men and turn them into animals of all sorts. On occasion, Circe would leave Aeaea to seek ingredients for her spells. Sometimes she would take some of her attendants with her. I remember on one occasion that she had gone to another island in the Sea of Monsters to obtain an additive that would increase the lifetime of her spells. I didn't think anything of it at the time; but she had gone to see Panacea. I know where to find her" Reyna concluded confidently.

Leo smiled as he chimed in next to Calypso. "Then the hard part's over. Trying to find the place would have been like finding a needle in a haystack. Now for the easy part" he rubbed his hands together with anticipation as his eyes gleamed with a fiery light. "Transport. I'd build you something myself if I could, but seeing as I'm in the middle of nowhere; I'll have somebody nearly as good as me take care of the problem. Get me Harley will yah?"


	36. Déjà Vu

**Chapter 35: Déjà Vu**

We stepped out of the infirmary of the Big House and waiting outside cooling his heels off was Maxwell. He leaned back against the blue siding, intently carving a new piece of wood with his knife. "Finished your last carving?" I asked him.

He looked up at me briefly before he brought his eyes back on the delicate notches he was making. "Yep, just something to keep my hands busy when I'm not fighting". He twirled his short knife expertly between his fingers before slipping it into a leather sleeve. "Where you guys going?"

I shrugged my shoulder in the direction little Harley left running. "Calypso might have figured out a way to heal everyone back in Camp Jupiter. Reyna knows where to go and Harley's arranging transportation to get there".

At the mention of Harley's name, Max grumbled as he slipped his knife in and out in indecision before he dropped it into his pocket. "Oh fun… He's probably going to their little workshop. I wouldn't trust anything that's coming out of that place. Hephaestus Cabin's tinker toys tend to end up becoming death traps" Maxwell smiled as he pushed off the wall.

I sighed, "well let's see what happens. It can't be that bad".

* * *

Right from the start it seemed we Luck wasn't on our side. When we got to the bulkhead of the Bunker, it closed and locked. Maxwell grumbled as he tried muscling the steel door open. When it failed to budge; he gave it a solid kick which ended with a dull thunk and Max groaning as he clutched his boot. "They closed the doors on us".

"Isn't there a lever or a switch to open the door?" I asked looking at the thick steel door. Aside from the deep red rust, the bulkhead seemed vaguely familiar to me.

"If there was, it's gone now. The Hephaestus kids took over the place and turned it into their private tinker shop. It's protected with passwords and security codes. Type in the wrong code and you get a nasty shock. Believe me, I've tried. Not fun".

I scratched the back of my head. "Is there another door into the Bunker?"

"Not that I know of. The only way in is through those big steel doors".

I stepped away from the bulkheads and walked along the Cliffside. The path was overgrown with raspberries and strawberry vines, so the going was a bit rough. "Ugh Alex, what're you doing?" He asked still standing in the clearing at the edge of the brambles.

"Call it a hunch, but I don't think there would only be one way to get in or out of a place like that". I tripped over a rock under the greenery and took a tumble headfirst into the raspberry bushes. "Owww…" My face was stinging and my palms were a bit bruised but otherwise fine.

"You okay man?" Maxwell asked, a little nervously.

"I'm cool, just tripped on something". I looked behind me and noticed a dull shine. "Hello. What's this? Dude there's something over here".

"You better not be yanking my chain man" Maxwell grumbled as trudged through the thorny plants. "Otherwise, I'll use you as my personal punching bag for the foreseeable future" he punched one fist into the palm of his other hand for emphasis.

"Max, come on. Look at this thing". He kneeled next to me and we checked it out. It looked like a shift or something. Made of metal, mostly covered in greenish coating, with a few flecks of gold and bronze peeking out.

"Looks like an old lever" Maxwell figured. He reached for it and pushed on the short shaft sticking out of the ground. Tried as he might, the lever wouldn't shift. "Dude, it's busted".

I rubbed my chin and thought about it. "Something about it looks off. The end has a pattern to it, looks like an H, like a lock or something".

"Fat lot of help a lock is gonna be without a key" Maxwell complained as he got up and started walking off. His foot clanged into something and a metal rod went rolling across the ground.

I reached for the bronze shaft and hefted it. One end looked like solid, circular rod. But the other end had a solid H. "You asked for a key, you got it. H, for what Hephaestus?"

"Hmm, I think it's called Eta, but close enough. Try it" Maxwell suggested. I forced the H on the rod into the mold on the shaft. It fit perfectly, but nothing seemed to be happening. "Now what?" he asked.

"I don't think it's an actual key. I think we still need to force it open. Let's try it". Me and Maxwell got close to each other and yanked on the shaft together. Apparently looks were deceiving because we went flying backward, the lever unlocked with barely any effort at all. We fell on our butts and on top of each other in a tangle of arms and legs. I was on my back and he was laying on top of me, staring down at my face in a daze. When we realized the position we were in; he jumped off me blushing; while I backed away a bit.

"Sorry about that Alex" his milky white skin blushed to a cherry red.

Thankfully my tan hid most of the blush. "It's cool Max, don't know our own strength" I added as I raised my arms and flexed in a double biceps pose. He smiled as he put a hand in front of me and I grabbed it and got up. "Hey, look behind you".

As he turned around, we watched as the Cliffside seemed to slip behind itself. A skinny black hole in the wall appeared in front of us. "Secret tunnel. Cool man, definitely going to use that later. Don't tell the others about it. It'll be our secret" he beamed a crocodile smile and I couldn't help grinning with him.

Turned out the tunnel wasn't that long. It went about twenty feet into the rock and then we had to crouch onto out hands and knees. Felt like a boulder was in our way. I pushed against it and it tumbled aside with a thud. We crawled out, wiped the dust off our clothes and then rolled the boulder back in place; walking off toward the voices echoing in the giant room.

* * *

We rounded a couple of boxes stacked with parts and there everyone was waiting impatiently around a large project, covered by a heavy hemp cloth. Harley blinked at us, looking confused, "oh, there you guys are. Thought we left you two outside?"

"Uhm, we got a little sidetracked. This place is a bit big".

"Well of course, this was the tactical center of camp during the Civil War. Where the arsenal used to be. The Hephaestus Cabin moved here during the effort to develop war machines. But after the fighting was over, the place was abandoned, forgotten for years. Until my older brother Leo stumbled on it by accident when he first got here, so cool!"

I looked around the room like I was seeing double. I was getting a headache just thinking about it. I looked up at the back wall where a banner of Hephaestus hung. I squinted my eyes and I thought the brown flag suddenly grew a blue field with stars and red and white stripes. "Hey, are you okay Alex" I felt a hand on my shoulder and saw it was Max's. I shook my head and refocused on the wall, but the banner once more proudly showed Eta on a Brown background.

"Yeah, I'm fine, sorry. So, what's under the tarp?"

"I'm glad you asked Alex" Harley proudly exclaimed. He inched his way closer to it and grabbed on edge of the tarp. "I've been busy working on this for weeks. I wanted to use it to try and find Leo. But since he got back in one piece" he shrugged with a cheeky grin, "you can use it instead. It'll be perfect for shipping you all off to the Sea of Monsters. Behold 'the Harley-Valdez 1.0'" he yanked the tarp off in one quick tug.

"It… It's a plane?" I looked at it as a sinking feeling formed in the pit of my stomach.

"Not just any plane" Harley continued, explaining the planes specs like an auto dealer trying to cut a deal. "This marvel of aviation was inspired by one of the most renowned sons of Hephaestus. None other than the famous Leonardo da Vinci. Look at the lines, the form, it's designed to be a glider, but outfitted with the finest of WWI tech. I added a modern twist by making it out of fiberglass and carbon tubing rather than steel for lightness, but otherwise the design had good bones" Harley conceded happily. "What do you think?" He asked as he practically jumped in place, bubbling with enthusiasm.

"It is impressive" Reyna conceded as her eagle eye flickered over the fixed-wing aircraft.

"Looks a bit rickety to me", Maxwell grumbled to himself as he gingerly poked the plane.

"Where did you get the plan for this thing?" I asked the little kid. Ever since we got back to camp it's been feeling like one déjà vu episode after another.

"Can't take the credit for it, found the schematics lying around a few weeks back and have been itching to get it off the drawing board ever since. Isn't she a beauty" he asked like a statement as if reaffirming a fact.

"Have you flown it yet?" I asked, that sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach was getting heavier and heavier.

"Nah, was planning to break it out for a test drive sooner or later but now's the perfect time. You guys can use it to get to the Sea of Monsters in no time. Here let me get it reeved up for you. The engine's a little touchy, but once it gets going, she purrs like a kitty cat".

He hopped into the cockpit and turned the ignition, the engine huffed into life and the propeller slowly began to turn. Everyone stood to the side and watched as the propeller slowly began to turn. As it started going faster, an odd clicking sound started to ring in the air. That heavy feeling inside me collapsed into a black hole and I suddenly felt overwhelming panic. "Get down everybody!" I threw myself forward like a man possessed and knocked everyone over with a bunch of groans.

The propeller blade started shaking wildly in place before it went flying off and sliced through the air over us like an oversized ninja star and then crashed into the bunker's wall with a metallic crunch.

Harley looked across the room with a gaping mouth as his hands flew across the controls, turning the plane off. He jumped out of the cockpit and made it over to us. "Whoa is everybody okay?

"The plane!" I shouted in a scared fit. "The bolt you used to fasten the propeller to the plane was weak, it wrenched right off. The propeller almost mowed us down". My breathing was out of whack, my eyes were wide and the scene kept playing in my head, over and over again.

Harley's eye went up in confusion before he turned around and looked over his plane. Sure enough, the bolt was sitting on the ground torn almost in two. The nose of the pane still smoked a bit where the propeller flew off. He turned around and started asking, "huh go figure. How'd you know that?" but I ran out of there.


	37. Memories

**Chapter 36: Memories**

I ran out of the bunker as if a hellhound chased after me. But all it was were memories, they weren't mine, but they sure felt like it.

I knocked the boulder aside, crawled out through the exit and then flicked the lever; sealing the cave off from the outside. I raced back to my cabin; constantly looking over my shoulder. I could feel my heart threatening to explode and jumping up into my throat.

When I made it to my place, I slammed the heavy driftwood door closed behind me and pushed my back into it; as if to try and block out the feelings closing in around me.

After locking the door, I staggered over to one of the beds and collapsed onto it and curled up into a shaking ball. Only when there was complete quiet did I let the visions and feelings completely wash over me and I sank into them like a drowning sea.

The words of Catherine came back to me from what I read I her journal. I felt as if I could feel everything she had, as if it were happening to me...

* * *

 _July 15, 1915_ I made my way over to the hospital bed where they set Wallace after his surgery. I knew he wasn't dead, but he looked the very image of death. His skin, normally a healthy ebony was a washed out, ashy grey. His animated smile was gone, replaced by a still, flat line.

"How are you feeling Wall? Is there anything I can do?" I asked him with a quivering grin; but he didn't say a word and my smile faded away. "Oh this is all my fault. I'm so sorry Wallace. Please forgive me" I sobbed as I crashed forward onto the foot of his bed.

A presence loomed behind me. I didn't need to look, to know who it was. "Not now Mother".

A hand gently touched my shoulder and I forced myself look at her. My face had to have been red with tears streaming down like a pair of waterfalls. The goddess wanly smiled as she wiped them away. "I'm sorry Catherine. I know this was not what you were expecting. However, it is not best to become attached to this boy".

"Why?" I exclaimed indignantly "Is it because of the color of his skin?" Such comments have become all too common these days. Though the Yanks had long fought and won the war over slavery, equality was still a long time coming. "I will stay by his side. It is my fault he is in this bed and I made him lie in it. It was my idea to sketch the plane, and it was my propeller that sliced off his leg like a hot knife through butter" she cringed as she made herself stare at the foot of Wallace's bed. Where there should have been two, only a single leg paired with a bloody stump remained. "If only I wasn't in such a hurry to crank it up. If only I listened to him to check it over.

"He agreed regardless Catherine, it was an accident" Athena sagely concluded.

"The guilt is terrible regardless Mother. But I believe that is not the worst thing of all". The goddess appeared to tower over me as she waited for me to speak my mind.

"I know you don't understand. But Mother, Athena, I love him. And I believe the coup de grace of this sordid tale was that he likes me. He will forever think that he is nothing to me, but a nuisance who gets under my skin. When in fact, the truth is anything but. And he will never know" the tears began to flow anew and I knew that Athena had also left me…

* * *

A loud knock broke me from my thoughts. 'Go away' I cried as I pulled the blanket over my face.

"Not likely man" Maxwell broke into the cabin with a tackle that shock the whole place. "You ditched us back there. What happened?" He tenderly rubbed his shoulder as he walked off the pain and sat on my bed.

"Dude, did you really need to break down my door?" I dully asked him through the blanket.

"You wouldn't let me in" he simply replied.

I snorted and let the blanket slip down and revealed my tearing face and weak grin as I jabbed a thumb to the back of the cabin. A gentle breeze was blowing through the open back window facing out toward the Sound.

"Oh…" he slowly noted, before he shook his head and stared straight into my eyes. "Hey don't go changing the subject on me. What happened to you? You ran out of there like you saw a ghost".

My eyes grew wide and white with fright, "you'd think I was crazy or something".

"Try me" he simply replied with a shrug.

I reached under the covers and slammed the blue journal into Maxwell's chest quickly, dropping it in his hands as if the cover would burn my fingers off. "Open to page 66 and tell me what you see".

Maxwell opened it up and grinned when he realized what he was looking at, "Hey, cool drawing of Harley's plane, I didn't know you could draw".

"Check the date…" I told him tiredly as I blankly stared up at the ceiling.

"July 15th, 1915 di Immortales, this is ancient. Where'd you get this from?" Maxwell asked as he closed the book and his thick fingers traced the owl on the front cover.

"Some lady in a library gave it to me. But that's not the scary part. I knew Harley's plane was going to go bust. Read the next couple of pages, Max".

Maxwell looked at me like he wanted to strangle me. I could understand; forcing someone dyslexic to read 4 pages of cursive, no matter how neat, was miserable. However, somehow I felt he wouldn't have believed me if he didn't read the words for himself. As he skimmed over the words his face had gone from annoyed, to confused, to shocked and finally he looked up at me with horror in his eyes. "The plane's propeller flew off, just like what happened with Leo's plane. Except someone got hurt, Wallace".

I shuddered at the mention of the name, as if it were invisibly branded on me somewhere. And hearing the name made the mark burn like a red-hot iron. "I don't know why, but seeing Leo's plane there and hearing that noise, it felt like it was bringing back a buried memory or something. As if I'd been through it before".

He looked at me like I was a crazy person, "Alex…" he began to speak.

But I threw myself at him, leaned on him and started shaking. "You don't get it man. When that propeller flew off; I felt like someone almost died". I shook my head trying to shake the feeling, but failing miserably. "My head's going every which way and I don't know what to think. Just stay for a minute, please" I looked up at him.

He stared down at me like a deer in headlights. I almost thought he was going to get up and just go. As he shifted, he brought an arm around me and pulled me in close. I sank into his warmth and slowly went off to sleep, the shivers became fewer and farther between; until I had fallen completely asleep. "For you Alex, I will stay as long as you want me to". He sealed his promise with a gentle hug and kiss on my forehead…


	38. Bon Voyage

**Chapter 37: Bon Voyage**

The next morning, I woke up and Maxwell was still holding me in his arms. It felt so warm and comfortable, I didn't ever feel like getting up.

I was surprised he stayed all through the night even after I went to sleep. A content smile worked its way on my face.

I bumped into his side with my elbow trying to get comfortable and he started shifting under me. He pulled away and the cold morning air replaced his presence. "Morning. You feeling okay?" He asked me. I nodded as I looked at him. I was worried I didn't want things to be awkward between us, or have him think I was crazy or something. Out of nowhere I let a fart loose right there in bed.

What? I get gassy in the morning. Big deal.

Max snickered as he pinched his nose closed and swatted his free hand in my face. "Dude, what you eat at lunch yesterday, beans or something? Gag I'm dying here!"

"Idiot" I jokingly ribbed him, giving him a gentle shove as I went to the fountain in the back to brush my teeth. He stuck around waiting for me to get ready, looking over the journals I'd left out on the table while I wrapped up my morning routine.

As we headed out of my cabin and I closed the door behind me, he told me out of the blue, "those two kids in those books. They sure were a pair of messed-up half bloods".

"Don't I know it" I told him. "Half the time I feel like I can relate to Cat and Beau".

"Yeah, I get that. Life of a demigod ain't a box of chocolates and roses. But I wouldn't trade it for anything else" Max admitted. "I mean, sure we see some crazy crap, but also a ton of cool stuff too".

"Yeah like a maze that's wants to kill you, or shark the size of a submarine or Gods. I guess that's all pretty cool. Certainly more interesting than what I'd be doing back home. Probably catching some curls at the beach or playing Final Fantasy on my PlayStation bashing zombies with a sword".

"Not sure about the zombies part, but you can get a sword and stab a monster or two for real now" Maxwell kidded with me.

"Eh, I'd prefer to fight my monsters on the television" I replied.

* * *

It wasn't long before we walked onto the dining pavilion. Everyone swarmed around me like a cloud of locust when I came into view. Asking me where I went, and if everything was okay and if I could predict the future. I looked at Max with an eye brow raised at that.

"Predict the future?" Max scoffed with a grin. "He can barely decide on whether he's going to have the waffles or the pancakes for breakfast" he bumped me in the side with his elbow as I rolled my eyes.

"We were a bit worried" Cassidy replied as she shyly twisted a lock her hair between her fingers. "When you ran off, Maxwell went after you. But then neither of you came back afterward". She focused her wide eyes on Maxwell who for some strange reason started blushing under her gaze.

"No mystery" he broke eye contact and stared at the ground as he brought out his knife and started slipping it in and out of its sheath. "Me and Alex went down to the Sound to talk about stuff. You know: the ocean, video games, farts" he added with a straight face.

Cassidy looked at Max like she wanted to strangle him before she rolled her eyes while Reyna crossed her arms and glared at him like as if he were scum on the bottom of her shoe.

"Yeah, don't go near him with a lighter. The guy would go off like a Molotov cocktail" Max added while Harley started laughing.

"What a stink man" the little guy chuckled to himself.

"We even got to talking about your tinker toys Harley" Max added.

The little kid stopped laughing and his voice grew a bit tense. "Oh, what about?"

"I told Alex this wasn't the first time one of your inventions ended up being a half-baked death trap. Nothing new anyway".

"Half-baked…" Harley repeated with an edge to his voice as his eyes appeared watery. At once he threw a temper tantrum, he was hopping mad. "My inventions are awesome! You stink…" Harley stomped off with heavy feet.

A girl with fire-proof overalls shook her head. Nyssa sighed, "did you really have to do that Max? He's just a little kid. I better calm him down before he does something stupid back…"

* * *

"Uhm, well, we're short a plane and time is of the essence" Cassidy mumbled softly. "I think I have an idea for transportation to the Sea of Monsters though…" She hesitantly had us follow her to the back of Big House to where the stables were housed. Standing in one of them was a brown Pegasus who fluttered is wings happily and neighed when Reyna appeared.

"Ah Guido, hello old friend. How are you doing?" Reyna asked the horse as she tenderly rubbed him behind one of his ears.

Guido neighed, _'hi girlie good to see you're doing well too_ ' as he nuzzled her open palm.

Maxwell had his arms crossed as he stared at the Pegasus intently. "Only one Cass?"

She shrugged his shoulders sheepishly, "well yeah, Blackjack's back at Camp Jupiter and the others are out with some of the satyrs at the moment. Guido's the only one free and ready to go".

"But we can't all go on one horse; who's going on the quest then?" Maxwell asked in a defensive tone.

Reyna took centerstage and declared, "I must attend to this personally. It is Camp Jupiter that is in danger, my people, my burden. Besides which, Panacea will not likely appear before anyone else here"

"How high and mighty of you" Max grumbled as Reyna took her place on Guido's saddle. "That leaves the back seat then".

Cassidy shook her head emphatically no, "no thank you, I'm all quested out. After the Labyrinth, I need a break".

Reyna interrupted, "in any case, I shall choose who will accompany me on the journey". Her laser-focused eye quickly cut across all of us before piercing right at my forehead. "I choose Alex to accompany me. Out of you all, he seems the most capable".

Maxwell looked like a riled-up cat and Cassidy gently but firmly put her hand on his shoulder. He glared at her before shrugging off her hand and stormed off. I guess he really wanted to go on this thing.

"Alright then" Cassidy conceded happily like I'd just won a grand prize at the county fair. "I guess you're our man Alex. May the Fates be with you."

* * *

It wasn't long before we were packed up and ready to go. Everyone in camp gathered to give us a send-off. I couldn't help but notice Shayla's absence and that just made this quest even more important. She was depending of me, on both of us.

Chiron stood as a centaur at the edge of the crowd. Every time I left camp, he always seemed to have that sad, foreboding look on his face. As if he was expecting this time to be the one I don't manage to come back from, alive.

Cassidy waved at us good bye eagerly shouting "bon voyage et bonne chance!" I never knew Cassie could speak French.

Reyna declared, "alright, enough fanfare. Time to fly". She flicked the reins and Guido took off at a cantor. His wings beat hard, trying to get himself, along with the two of us strapped on his back as dead weight, up into the air. As we flew off, we barely cleared Hera's Cabin at the end of the Common Green and clipped the crown of Hera with Guido's hoof. Not the best omen but what could possibly go wrong?


	39. Crash Landed

**Chapter 38: Crash Landed**

All in all, flying on a Pegasus wasn't so bad…

 _Hey Boss!_

Well aside from the fact that I could hear what our ride was saying the whole trip down the Eastern Seaboard.

 _Dude, I know the chicks dig the muscles, but seriously; do you think you could slim down a bit? My back is killing me from all the weight. And when are we going to take a break? We left the North Carolina border twenty minutes ago and we'll be in Georgia in another twenty._

Reyna patted the steed as he neighed. I replied to him, "soon, maybe when we get to Georgia we'll stop for a break. Although we're sort of on a tight schedule Guido. People are getting sicker."

Guido started beating his wings just a bit faster so we could get to GA that much quicker. _And Lord, when we land, we need carrots._

I stared at him confused for a second, "what do we need carrots for?"

Guido snorted as he bucked in the air, almost throwing us off. _For me that's who! I think I deserve some of the good stuff. Not like I can have the sweet stuff. So, get me carrots!_

"Maybe when we get back to camp" I tried to reason with the horse. He tiredly neighed and slacked his wings. We slowed down, as if I had taken the wind out of Guido's sails.

Reyna stared back at me with an annoyed glare. "What did you say to him? We're losing speed".

"I just told him we don't have any carrots".

She rolled her eyes as she went into her bag and took out a baby carrot. "You want this Guido" He neighed with renewed energy. "Then go faster". She demanded and we suddenly lurched back into high gear. "I left prepared for this contingency, we need to get to the Sea of Monsters as quickly as possible".

"Good for you" I nodded with a bit of respect.

* * *

Turned out we made it past Georgia and ended up somewhere down the Florida Peninsula by the time Guido gave out. As promised, Reyna gave him the carrot and Guido happily munched on it before tucking his wings and going to sleep.

Reyna collected some dry brush from under the palmettos and set it on fire; making a toasty blaze to ward off the cool night and shed a bit of light on our camp site.

I went into our pack and got out a roll and some deli meat. I tore the bread in half and gave a piece to Reyna and she respectfully accepted some ham and cheese to go with it. As we sat there watching the flames lick at the dry leaves and twigs, I turned and asked her, "lucky break about Panacea huh?" Reyna solemnly nodded her head before going back to ignoring me and eating her sandwich. "So how did you get to meet Circe?"

She looked at me, like she was about to put up a wall between us. Before she shrugged her shoulders and tossed her braid behind her. "My sister and I washed ashore on Aeaea, her home. It was such a long time ago, feels almost like a lifetime. We ran away from home, from our father. It wasn't an amicable parting".

"We hopped into a boat, heading anywhere and out in the ocean the boat capsized. It could not withstand the Sea of Monsters you see. My sister and I washed ashore on Aeaea and Circe found us mixed in the wreckage. She took pity on us and gave us a home. Made us feel wanted and beautiful".

"Only problem was she made us forget about the real world and turned us into vapid, little minions who lived to do her bidding in mindless bliss, turning any men who washed ashore into animals. Her latest fixation was with Guinea pigs."

"Eventually Percy and Annabeth stumbled ashore from your camp. Caused a stir on the island; turning the men who were prisoners from harmless rodents, back into pirates. Circe fled, left us behind; and we, were captured, kept as prisoner on their ship. We bided our time. My sister and I soon saw an opportunity to escape and we took it".

"How did you get away?" I asked her, completely hooked by her story.

"We are daughters of Bellona, though I only raised a blade once in my life before my time on Circe's Island; we learned quickly how to dispatch those who threatened us. And from that moment on, we could defend ourselves against anything or anyone…' her eyes burned right into me as she finished her story before she laid down with her back to the fire. I could take the hint: don't cross the line or screw up or I won't live to regret it…

* * *

Early the next morning Reyna threw a bucket of water on the smoldering embers and splashed me awake. "Come on, we're moving out."

I yawned and stretched and rubbed the sleep from my eyes. I fixed my bleary eyes on her, and she was already in the saddle staring down at me. I lazily got up onto Guido who complained as soon as I put my full weight down on him.

I barely had my butt down in the saddle when Reyna flicked the reins and we went flying up into the sky. I leaned forward and grabbed something I order to keep from flying off. Only problem was the only thing to hold onto was Reyna. She looked over her shoulder and then looked straight ahead, causing her braid to whip me in the face.

Ugh, not a good start to my morning, oh well, can't get any worse…

And what do you know, the Fates intended to prove me wrong. We'd only gone a few miles off the coast of Florida and just crossed over into the Bermuda Triangle (AKA Sea of Monsters) when all Hades went loose. The skies grew cloudy and stormy while the seas became choppy and full of foam; as if it were being blended up from beneath. The winds picked up suddenly, as if we flew into a hurricane, and then a giant hole opened up in the sea beneath us.

"Oh crap, what is that?!" I stared at the spinning hole in the sea.

"Charybdis" Reyna steely replied as her knuckles grew tight and white while holding onto the reins. "Hold on, I'm going to try and veer us away from it!" She yanked on the reins and Guido tried to beat his wings against the wind. But slowly, we got pushed over the gaping maw. I looked straight down and saw a jagged ring of chipped, sharp teeth. Ships and planes were wedged in between them; I couldn't help but shudder at the thought of how many people got sucked down into that thing. A one-way trip down a titanic toilet.

Guido managed to keep us up in the air, I figured, as long as we didn't fall into the water, we should be fine. The whirlpool slowed to a stop, Charybdis appeared to vanish from the surface. "Is it gone?"

All at once, a mighty geyser of water and exploded from the ocean and shot Guido and the two of us out of the sky.

"Whoa boy, come on, beat your wings" Reyna pleaded.

 _Whoa boss… wet loogie._ Waterlogged and dazed, Guido clumsily fell out of the sky as a soaking mess of feathers and fur.

"Guido, for Gods' sake snap out of it… Carrots!" Guido snorted and whipped his wings through air.

 _Carrots! Where!_ I pointed to a little speck of an island in the distance. "Over there big guy. Juicy carrots, just plump, crunchy and ready to be plucked from the ground".

That snapped him out of his daze pretty quick. He threw himself through the air and narrowly skipped over the gaping hole of Charybdis. But I knew, and I'm pretty sure Reyna knew too.

We weren't going to make it to the island.

We were a good half a mile out and just about to crash into the sea. I took a deep breath, rubbed my hands together, and yanked on the ocean under us.

Though my hands weren't holding anything, I could barely make them go up. The ocean slowly began to rise under us; like the moon pulling on the tide. Guido's hooves skimmed the water and then he tumbled in head first. I threw my hands forward and ocean beneath us picked us up on a giant wave. Within minutes, the tsunami threw us onto the beach, in a less than graceful crash.

* * *

I slowly rolled over and stared up at the perfectly blue sky with not even a cloud in sight. "Ugh you okay guys?"

Reyna groaned and turned her face toward me. "Not my most graceful landing, but I am still in one piece. How's Guido?"

I looked to my other side at the brown Pegasus. He lay on his side in a daze mumbling under his breath, " _carrots…_ "

"He's fine" I offhandedly remarked I sat up on my butt and took a look around. "Where are we?"

Reyna shook the sand off her cloak and scouted the place for landmarks. She had a bittersweet smile on her face. "This is it. Panacea's Island. It looks exactly as I remembered it" the Praetor declared in a certain voice.

She got out her golden sword and held it at ready. "Come along Alex, we're going to go on a safari to the south side. There's a lagoon and temple there; perhaps Panacea will be too". She looked over me at Guido staggering about on his hooves.

"Will he be alright if we leave him here?" I asked her.

"There is nothing dangerous for him here. We might as well let him stay and recuperate".

* * *

Reyna took the lead and swung through the brush with her blade as if it were a machete. Soon enough we finally popped out into a clearing overlooking a half-moon shaped lagoon.

In two rows, columns framed the lawn like an open hallway. A set of wooden benches sat next to each side. In the back of the temple was a stone amphitheater with an open marble wall, wooden benches and a tight ring of marble dais right next to the center stage.

Sitting in front of the stage was an empty pit, marked with a series of lines and symbols and a bronze plug at the bottom of the dry pool.

"Uhh hello, Panacea. Anyone home?" I called out the quiet place, but there was no reply, not even an echo.

Reyna shot a murderous glare, "Alex, what are you doing? We do not want to annoy the Goddess".

I shrugged my shoulders, "but how will she know we're here if we don't let her know".

"Oh the Goddess knows you're here" a lady's voice called out from behind us. We turned around and there stood a woman wearing a bunched-up toga. She had her arms crossed; one hand in a fist, the other with her fingers rhythmically strumming on her arms. "And if you don't tell me what you're doing on my island in the next ten seconds I will strike you down with an assortment of ailments that will leave you screaming for death".


	40. What a Ball of Sunshine

**Chapter 39: What a Ball of Sunshine**

We were shocked speechless. Probably not the smartest thing to be when a Goddess demands you to spill. Although the darnedest thing? Nothing happened.

We stood there waiting. Reyna had her golden blade up in a defensive position and I was gapping at Panacea. She looked cute I suppose; although the whole, threatening-to-kill-us thing, kind of toned down the attraction. Her golden hair shined like sunbeams and her skin looked so pale, I thought she'd burn in an instant. Her eyes had this deep blue color to them, not sky blue, more like the kind from deep under the ocean. Panacea had a necklace made of intricately crafted stygian iron links and hanging from it was a crystal vial filled with a milky white liquid.

"Uhm not that I'm complaining or anything, but didn't you say you were going to make us suffer after ten seconds?" Reyna glared at me, but it had to have been at least a minute already.

Panacea threw her hair back with a scoff, "I did so swear and I will make good on my promise". The Goddess broke her glare and stared into the empty pit in the ground. Me and Reyna turned to look at each other. She shrugged her shoulders at the Goddess. "Why are you staring at that empty pit in the ground?"

Panacea glared at me, if looks could kill, yipes… "Pit?" Panacea uncrossed her arms and lowered her hands away from her chest. "That's no pit, it is my clepsydra…"

My eyes went wide as I stared down into the hole before I backed away from it with alarm, "There's a hydra down there?!"

Panacea rolled her eyes as she replied, "are you hard of hearing child? I said clep- sy- dra. Although some hydra poison would be useful right about now" she muttered under her breath. "A clepsydra is a water clock; you can tell how much time has elapsed by how much of it has been filled with water".

I inched right up to the edge of the pool and considered it. There was just one problem. "Umm lady that pit is bone dry…"

Panacea's jaw hung open, she looked at me like I had said the stupidest thing on the planet. "I know that child. Which is why I am still waiting and haven't struck you dead yet".

I exchanged a glance with Reyna, an image of a cuckoo clock went off in my head… I emphasized my thought with a finger by my ear going around in a loop. Reyna looked at the Goddess with a bit of concern, nothing more dangerous and unpredictable than an unhinged goddess.

Reyna gently informed her, "Lady Panacea, I do not think that water clock of yours is running anymore".

Panacea's eyes went wide at the thought, "it isn't?" As if she had just realized there was a problem. I mean the cracking mortar and the layer of dust sort of gave it away. The thing was bone dry. However, I got the feeling Panacea was an egg short of an even dozen. "Well dash it all, I can't smite you if I don't know how long it's been!"

I just wanted to get the Hades out of there as quick as possible, "uhh Lady, sorry to bother you; but we need some of your divine cure."

"Ahah!" she erupted as she pointed an accusing finger at me. "I knew that's what you came here for. Confound you all. Ever since I made the stupid thing, it's been _Panacea this, Panacea that. Give me some of your panacea_. Well I won't give it!" She crossed her arms and stomped her foot on the ground in annoyance.

Whoa… what got up in her grille. "It's important though. Someone let loose Apollo's Rats and they're spreading godly plague. It's getting out of hand."

She shuddered at the thought, "ehhh rodents. If my sister Hygeia were here now, she'd be shaking in her boots. Why the Romans let rats run around their towns; I can't make sense of it".

Reyna snorted as replied in defense of her people, "it is to honor Apollo…"

Panacea swatted the point aside with her hand as if I were a bothersome fly, "oh please, Grandfather Apollo has a big enough ego as it is. If Grandfather caused the problem, then ask him to fix it. It's his mess."

Reyna fingered her purple cloak awkwardly, "he is a bit preoccupied now".

"What she means is, Apollo's mortal".

Panacea stared giggling, before she bowled over from laughing so hard. "Oh Gods, that's hilarious! He must have upset the mighty Zeus. Again! Well tough cookies for you. I don't dole out my cure. Ever since I discovered the darn thing, people from around the word pester me for it. _Oh Miss Panacea I have a case of the sniffles that I want to get rid of_ or _Oh Goddess please I need it for my boo boo…_ I devised the cure to heal abominable pain and suffering and people come crawling to me for it so they may heal themselves of every little thing. You don't need medicine honey, you just need time, time heals all wounds. The strong survive and the weak perish".

"That is unacceptable, I have thousands of people to tend to. I will not allow them to die when you have the means to heal them". Reyna stepped forward and Panacea went for the chain and yanked the crystal vial off and uncorked it. She held it right above her mouth.

"Don't come a step closer" Panacea demanded. "What I hold in my hands is water from the River Lethe. Try anything and I will drink it".

"You would not" Reyna insisted with her golden blade up ready to strike.

"Try me demigod" Panacea replied allowing the vial to tip forward just a bit more. Not enough to pour the contents, but enough to let it inch its way forward.

"Lethe water? What's so special about that?"

Reyna sheathed her blade and glared at the Goddess, "it is water from one of the four Rivers of the Underworld; the River of Forgetfulness. Drink a drop of it or allow it to touch your skin and you forget. **Everything** " she emphasized. "It even works on immortals".

"Forget?" I thought to myself. For a moment, I had a vague memory of kneeling on a black gravel shore line, staring off into the blackness and listening to the sounds of moaning. I shook my head, trying to clear the strange thought from my mind. "Look Panacea, you don't really want to do this".

"What do you know half-blood?" she spat at me as she glared. "For thousands of years, I have been on the run. People flocked after me so that I may heal them of everything and anything. I have not seen my home in millennia. I've even gone so far as to run off to live like a hermit in the Sea of Monsters just to get away from the attention. And here I am in the middle of nowhere, practically at the edge of existence; yet I am still accosted. Well I won't have it".

"Hades visited me once and pitied me. He gifted me with a dram of Lethe water to wash away all the pain and suffering that I have gone through, over my creation. Because the panacea will work for anyone and everyone, except for me."

"Look you don't need to do this. It's extreme, what you're thinking of doing. I mean it sounds tempting. But if you do this, you'll spend the rest of your life wondering where it was you came from and who you even are. It's a terrible feeling Panacea" I told her this, and I really meant what I had to say. "We'll leave you alone, we just need some of your cure. We'll do anything" I told her. Reyna glared at me as if I just said the stupidest thing. Yay… two for two, everyone here thinks I'm dumb, and bonus they are both good looking girls...

Panacea had a wild look in her eye as she thought over my words and stared into my soul. Finally, the light dimmed a bit in her eyes and she lowered the vial and corked it. "Hmm somehow you seem to believe that so strongly. And I suppose you have a point. An eternity of wondering… it could be just trading one torture in exchange for another" she conceded before she crossed her arms and locked her eyes with mine. "No one's ever asked for a fair trade, they would simply take it from me. It's a refreshing change of pace. What do you have to offer?"

Ugh what do you offer a goddess? She's immortal anyway… Panacea broke her gaze and stared tiredly at her busted water clock. "How about this? We fix your clepsydra for you so you can tell time again. And in exchange you give us some of your cure".

Hmm Panacea scoffed at the idea, but then she started nodding as if agreeing with it. "I don't have many ties left with the world. It's crushing to lose the little I do have. If you can return this tiny piece of civilization back to me, I would appreciate it". Her wandering eye took in the crumbling columns of her temple and silent amphitheater with its cracked marble seats. "Alright it's a deal".

"Wait" Reyna interrupted, stepping between me and the Goddess. "Swear on the River Styx".

"Oh, why complicate things further?" Panacea coyly asked as she batted her eyes serenely at us. Reyna stood there, firm as stone. Panacea rolled her eyes and frowned, "Oh very well, I Panacea, Goddess of Healing, do so swear on the River Styx, that should this boy and meddlesome shrew fix my clepsydra, I will dole out a suitable portion of my cure. Should they fail to do so, oh by the end of the day, and I shall turn you both into swine" Panacea smiled as she licked her lips at the thought. Oh boy… on the positive side, at least if we got turned into pigs; it looked like we weren't going to be around long to worry about it.

"Wait a minute, I thought that was Circe's thing?" I complained.

"Oh you know CC?" Panacea gushed with a smile on her face. "Then if you manage to see her, tell her Panacea says hello, it's been a while since she's been around" she finished with a bitter tone to her voice. "The spring that feeds the clepsydra is up on the mountain. Fair thee well little hero, I've tried everything I could think of, but couldn't get the spring to open. I endeavor you to try better. And remember you only have until sunset. May the Fates be with you" she turned around and vanished in an explosion of sunlight.


	41. Touch of Inspiration

**Chapter 40: Touch of Inspiration**

Reyna and I hiked up the side of the rugged mountain; following the channel that fed into the clepsydra. All the while she lectured me on my stupidity. "Well, you had to go and open your big mouth. Now she is honor-bound to transform us into a pair of pigs".

"Hey, I wasn't the one who made her swear on the River Styx".

"Idiot, I did that so she could not worm her way out of the deal. It was an unavoidable situation. However, I suppose you are due some credit. You managed to placate Panacea so she wouldn't drink the water; even if it means having to hike up this stupid mountain".

"I think there was a compliment buried somewhere in all that, thanks?" I told her. And she chose to ignore me the rest of the way up.

* * *

The good news, the island wasn't all that big so by noon we had already made it up to the top of the peak. Bad news was the spring was completely bone dry. The greenery around the dusty hole in the ground looked shriveled and yellowed. It could have been a beautiful oasis, if it hadn't completely dried up.

Reyna tried to find a switch or a lock, something that could be holding back the water. She even hopped into the hole to see if there was a blockage, but as far as she could see there was nothing.

When that failed to work, I tried willing the water from the ground. For all my trouble, I almost peed myself from all the effort; turning red as a cherry and almost popped a vessel, but not even a drop of water. Either there was none, or it was simply too far out of reach.

After we exhausted all our options we collapsed onto the ground and kicked our feet back and forth in the dry spring like there was still water in it. "All that searching and all we have to show for it are dusty clothes" Reyna sighed tiredly as she wiped the sweat from her brow.

The only good thing was the sun had started going down so the temperature became a bit more comfortable. Which also meant that time was running out. Panacea would come storming up the mountainside by the end of the day, should her water clock still be completely empty and turn us into little piggies, ready to be stuffed with an apple and skewered on a rotisserie rod.

* * *

Neighhh…. "What was that?" Reyna asked as she stood up and turned, whipping her braid around her neck. I paid closer attention and listened, _Carrots!_

"Sounds like Guido's found some carrots" I told her.

She cocked her head and raised an eyebrow. "Carrots? Are you certain? This isn't the likeliest place to find a carrot. Hardly better than a desert. Come along, we better make certain Guido doesn't poison himself, eating something he **thinks** is a carrot".

We walked around a rocky wall and pulled back a couple of scraggly bushes and took a look. There was Guido happily neighing as he chewed on a crunchy carrot, and a young lady standing there next to him feeding him another one. Guido ignored the other carrot and reached for the pen in her other hand. The lady took the pen away and then snapped him on the nose with it, "this isn't a carrot, gentle creature".

A golden tiara reflected the afternoon sun, flickering in her dark brown hair. Pinned between her arm and side she had a note book filled with loose pages of script sticking out of it.

She looked away from the pegasus and smiled, "oh hello, how are you? Would this fine animal be yours?" She affectionately petted him and stroked her fingers through his mane. Guido seemed happy enough, so no alarm bells were going off for me.

"His name is Guido, who are you" I asked her.

She smiled a gentle grin and replied innocently. "Oh I was just passing through. But then I saw your beautiful steed and couldn't resist saying hello".

I frowned at her vague response, "oh that's cool I guess. So you've been here before?"

She had a faraway look in her eyes, as if her thoughts weren't with us. "Ohh it's been awhile. In the past I'd come here to obtain some inspiration. The trickle of the spring helps calm my thoughts…"

"But the spring's dried out" I interrupted her. "And we need to get it fixed by sunset or we're going to get turned into a pair of pigs."

She brought her pen close to her face and tapped herself with it thoughtfully, leaving a couple of streaks of ink on her skin. "Sounds like an interesting tale. I would love to hear it".

I rubbed the back of my head uncertainly; Reyna gave me a death glare telling me to zip it and say good bye. "I don't know lady, we're sort of on a tight schedule".

"Oh please?" She practically begged like a kid at Christmas to open presents a day early. "It would mean so much to me".

"Well, I guess I could give you the cliff notes version at least". She beamed as she sat down on a marble seat at the edge of the spring and had her pen ready to jot down everything she heard. I thought it would be difficult to tell her everything that happened. I wasn't good with coming up with stories on the fly. But somehow, as the lady stared at me with those deep eyes, the words seemed to slip from me as easily as breathing air. Whenever I would stall, she only had to gesture with her hand gently and the story would continue to spill from my lips. Gods the way I was telling it, my summer vacation was starting to sound like a half-baked Greek epic. She didn't ask any questions, she only sat there dutifully taking down notes like a scribe with artfully written script into her notebook.

By the end of the story, Reyna was looking at the horizon nervously, the sun was close to setting and the sky had turned a purple-pink color.

The lady offered me a radiant smile, "that was an amazing tale. You have seen much, and I know you will see plenty more in your time. I appreciate you telling me your story, even if it is not finished quite yet. It is nice to be inspired for a change. I look forward to finish writing your story little hero. I do not have much to offer you; but this: a tale for a tale; should you choose to listen".

She held hands wide apart as a fire popped out of nowhere right in front of her. Sure, why not? Let's roll with it. "Can't tell a good story without a fire to sit by. In the ancient days, there towered a great peak called Helicon. From the east, the sun would rise and arc over the mountain and set behind it in the west. Up at the very top of this peak was a pool, surrounded by woods and wildflowers. There my eight sisters and I would come and sing and dance together and swim in the clean waters. But there wasn't always water there, in fact it was once a rocky crag. An inhospitable place, until the mighty Pegasus came to rest in his eternal flight across the sky. It is said, that when the winged horse's hooves graced the earth on that spot, water spurted forth from the earth and turned the place into lush paradise".

"I offer you this modicum of advice young heroes. Though the actors and the places may change, history often follows patterns…" With that she snapped her fingers and the fire vanished as if it hadn't been there at all and then she herself faded in the orange light of the sunset.

"Calliope, one of the Nine Muses, that was her" Reyna concluded. "But why did she choose to appear now? What was the point of her stalling us?"

I looked out at the sunset in the west; just beginning to dip under the sea. Guido happily scrapped at a carrot in the ground with his hoof.

"Pegasus!" I jumped up from my seat and grinned like a maniac. Reyna looked at me like I was possessed. I'd prefer to call it inspired…

"What about him?" Reyna asked.

"Pegasus was the original winged-horse. The horse was made by Poseidon. Maybe I can't tap the spring but maybe just maybe Guido can."

Reyna looked at me with eyes open with realization. "At Mt. Helicon, the spring came to life when Pegasus touched down in the pool."

I cupped my hands over my mouth and shouted, "Guido, we need you over here!"

 _Yeah boss_

"We need you to step into the middle of the spring."

Guido snorted at me as he scuffed his hoof on his half-buried carrot _. I don't know man. I want to eat some more carrots…_

I tore at my hair in annoyance, "Guido, I'll give you a wheelbarrow full of carrots if you just put your hoof in this pool right now!" The reddish ball had dipped halfway under the horizon.

 _Sir yes sir!_ Guido cantered over to the hole in the ground and gently pressed his hoof into the earth.

 _Neigh! Easiest carrots I've ever earned_. Suddenly, water exploded from the ground in a muddy geyser; splashing the poor horse in the face and sending the skittish creature off in a panic. Once the water filled to the rim, it ran over and rushed into the canal and spilled down the mountainside as a muddy slurry.

"Follow the water!" Reyna commanded as she grabbed her sword. We raced down, chasing after the water. Eventually we hopped onto Guido and took off to catch up to the water.

We barely made it down the mountain in time to watch the water spill into the clepsydra. It filled faster than I thought it should have and then petered to a drizzle, slowly filling the pool of the water clock.

We heard a rustle next to us and Panacea squinted her eyes to look at the lines on the side of the pool, "it is the 20th hour, sunset… it would seem the Fates were on your side. You have restored my clepsydra to me. As much as it pains me to say so, I bestow upon you this". The Goddess reached into the folds of her dress and pulled out a clear vial filled with a lightly glowing liquid along with a few sprigs of a shining grey plant. "Behold the Panacea: universal cure, heals all ills, prevents even death yada yada yada…"

"What is it made from?" I gently shook the vial, watching the little plants shift around inside.

Panacea glared darkly, "it's really none of your business. However, since you mortals will never see it in your lifetimes I guess I could give you a hint. The plant itself is near impossible to kill, and can be brought back to life with even a trace of water. The plant exists everywhere and yet nowhere…"

I pocketed the cure and then crossed my arms, "you're not making any sense"

She smiled a Cheshire Cat grin, "I don't have to. Just don't tell anyone where you got this from or I will send an ailment far worse than divine plague upon you".

"Duly noted Lady Panacea, we will take our leave and speak not a word of this to anyone" Reyna bowed and then pulled me away with her. As if I wanted to hang around the crazy hermit goddess any longer than I had to.

"I cannot believe it. We did it!" the praetor looked at me happily. "If it were it not for you I would not have gotten the cure from Panacea or understood Lady Calliope' hint. You were brilliant" she looked at me with admiration and maybe something else.

"Aww man, I didn't do anything special…" I began to say when she leaned forward and stole a kiss from me.

Whoa where did that come from? She pulled away with her face just a touch red. Reyna blushing? Nah probably just the sunset.

 _Go boss!_ Guido snickered off to the side.

I put a hand to my mouth and had a little mental breakdown. I shook myself out of it and told her, "uhm right. Let's head back" I insisted. "Right now" and hopped onto Guido's back, ready to fly off with the panacea.


	42. All's Well That Ends Well Right?

**Chapter 41: All's Well that Ends Well… Right?**

The ride back felt twice as long as going to Panacea's Island in the first place. I peered down at the ground and watched people in cars driving down on the roads resembling tiny ants. I don't know what people saw when they looked up and watched us fly by. A pair of kids in a little biplane? At this point, I really didn't care if they saw us riding on a winged horse going at hundred-twenty miles an hour.

I made sure I wasn't leaning on Reyna or grabbing onto her for support; so I had to clutch the saddle for dear life. I shook my head as she looked straight out front, never looking back, never saying anything. Her braid whipped me in the face with every harsh gust. 'Why'd you do it Reyna?' I asked myself as I shook my head uncertainly. 'Why'd you kiss me? What am I feeling? Should I be happy, mad, upset? I just feel confused, like I did something wrong. But I didn't! Not really, but then why is this feeling still nagging me in the back of my head…' I facepalmed myself and squeezed my nose, trying to get rid of my pounding headache. 'I need to talk to Cassie when I get back, she'd know what to do'.

Snicker. _Hey boss, seal the deal. Tell her to turn around and kiss her back. You'll rock her world…_

I rolled my eyes and raised my hand and smacked the horse's behind. He neighed and bucked in the air for a second before quieting down and looking at me with eyes full of laughter.

Reyna looked over her shoulder; "everything alright back there?" Reyna asked. "I would not want to lose… the panacea" she added lamely as her eyes locked on mine, her cheeks turned a bit red. She abruptly faced forward without even glancing back from the corner of her eye.

* * *

It was dusk when we landed in Camp Half-Blood. Chiron and the others immediately came up to help us off of Guido; who was escorted to the stables for his reward of a wheelbarrow of carrots and water. Chiron looked at us with a cautious look in his eyes, "did you find Panacea?"

I reached into my pocket and got out the vial and raised it up for everybody to see, "yeah everything worked out".

Reyna stepped forward, eyes tense and posture ramrod straight, as if she hadn't spent almost twelve hours on horseback. "What news do you have of Camp Jupiter?"

Everyone who welcomed us didn't want to look her in the eye. I wondered who's gonna be the one to break the news. Roxy, one of Maxwell's sisters rolled her eyes and sighed annoyed. "Fine, I'll bite the bullet, you bunch of cowards. I won't sugarcoat it Praetor, people are dropping like flies back in California, left and right. It got so bad, if anything happened over there, the City would have been unable to muster up a defense against even a fluffy bunny". And she looked very serious, both about Reyna's people, and about the bunny, Lepus was no joke. "It's gotten so bad, Maxwell and some of the others from Camp have gone to make sure nothing happened while you Romans are down for the count".

Reyna brought her steely gaze across everyone there, "then we must leave at once. It is only a matter of time, before the causalities become fatalities".

Harley twirled a wrench in his hand, the glimmer of the silver caught everyone's attention. "I've fixed up the Harley-Valdez 1.0". My eyes went wide at the mention of the plane, keep it together… "Now don't worry about a thing. The plane's certified 100% and raring to go. Me and Nyssa've already taken her out for a spin and she flies like a dream". I looked at his older sister and couldn't help but notice her face turned pale as she held her stomach.

"It would have if you didn't keep doing loop-de-loops and corkscrews. You almost busted the gyroscope" Nyssa groaned as she belched at the thought. "However, the plane has been checked over with a fine comb for any glitches with double redundancy built into all the major systems. I daresay even with Harley's terrible flying fly and half the plane malfunctioning you could stay airborne..."

"Hey!" Harley grumped as he stomped his work boot into the ground petulantly before socking Nyssa in the shoulder before storming off to the plane. "Meanie…" he mumbled under his breath.

* * *

Well, I had to admit, once we got off the ground and we failed to hit any turbulence I felt a bit more at ease. I slept on the ride there, we'd be there by nightfall. Not that I managed to catch that many z's, my thoughts bounced around all over the place. I had a dream that started off fine enough. I was on Panacea's Island next to the spring. The sun had just begun to dip under the sea, shining everything in a burning orange-red glow. Reyna turned toward me as we sat on a marble bench listening to the bubbling of the spring. She smiled at me as she leaned forward and tried to kiss me.

I scooted a bit away from her, as she opened her brown eyes, as if wondering why she hadn't made contact yet. She rolled her eyes with a teasing smile on her face; "Why flinch from me hero? Dost thy not please you?" I stared at her with an eyebrow raised. She looked like Reyna. But she had a smile on her face like a predator. Her gaze beamed into my soul like a pair of cat's eyes.

"What? What kind of dream is this? You're not acting yourself".

She rolled her eyes as if I just said the sky was green and the grass is blue. "Alexander Conecke, I am yours. A love stirs in my heart for thou. I offer it to thou on a silver platter. Consume it, as countless men have done across time immemorial. For beauty is an ephemeral thing, quick to fade, like a flower…" She stood up and had her arms spread wide and came toward me as if ready to embrace me.

I jumped away, unconsciously reached to my side and pulled out a sword. "I don't know who you are, but you sure ain't Reyna!" I held my blade up defensively. Reyna's smile turned into a tooth bearing snarl and as she roared, "Argentum. Aurum. Come to me! This boy hast seen fit to spurn my advances. Tear him limb from limb!"

The two metal dogs' eyes turned a gleaming ruby red before they growled and jumped at me. I slashed with my side of my sword knocking the gold one aside. While the silver one I conked on the head with the pommel of my blade. Reyna screeched as she pointed a shaky finger at me. Her face appeared to crack and hiss as a light began to radiate from inside her. I closed my eyes just when she appeared to explode.

* * *

I squinted my eyes, trying to clear the afterimage, even with my eyes closed, the light got through. Instead of Reyna, a woman. That lady I dreamed about… Rhea but she didn't look quite herself. Instead of her peace sign medallion, she had a set of panpipes on a string hanging from her neck, with flowers woven into her hair. I might have pegged her for an ancient Greek hippie, if it weren't for that deadly scowl on her face. She sure didn't look happy or peace-loving to me.

She hissed and made her hand rise. In an explosion of light, the two-metal dog transformed into a pair of lionesses. They got up at the lady's command and looked hungry enough to have me as a snack.

The lady shouted at me as she pointed her finger and accused, "Son of Man, you and your ilk have sullied my garden, my world. Know that with each passing trial; I will send another more difficult than the last. And soon will come the day where you shall fail to overcome. I shall eradicate the world of your kind. Just as you have done with my son. The Wild writhes in pain for my loss and its own. Soon I shall rid it of its scourge. Know me as…!" she boldly declared and sicked her lionesses at me.

And then I shot up from my seat and awoke from the dream. "You okay?" Harley asked me from the cockpit. Reyna was contently snoozing in the copilot's chair next to him. "You looked like you were having a pretty bad dream, but you didn't get a lot of sleep so I left you alone".

"How far are we from Camp Jupiter?" I asked as I rubbed the sleep from my eyes, now completely awake and my dream fading away.

Harley shrugged his shoulders and pointed out to the horizon. "Those are the Sierra Nevadas in the distance. Camp Jupiter is in the middle of them, a barrier keeps the place from mortal eyes. But we should be able to spot it from a ways". He looked at me from the corner of his eye as he read over the instruments. "What were you dreaming about?"

I shuddered, trying to shake off the feeling that woman left behind. "A messed-up version of Rhea, the Lady with the Lions. She came in a dream, and she was pissed. She's a character all right. Wants to destroy humanity. Even went off on an evil villain monologue."

Harley looked at me with wide eyes. "Woof…" was all he said as the Camp came into view under us.

* * *

We flew in a circle around the perimeter once, coming slowly out of the sky in a downward spiral before making a gentle landing on one of the battle ground greens.

I went to the back to check on everyone and they were all up and ready for action. When the landing ramp went down, Praetor Zhang was already there to receive us. He looked over each of us attentively before he locked eyes of Reyna. "Glad you're back Praetor. It's been a terrible two days you've been gone".

"I am pleased to be back as well" Reyna replied as she fixed her cloak. "What is the report?"

Frank held his spear with a white-tight vice-grip. "Honestly? Not good. Half the town is sick and in bed. The legions are in complete disorder. If we didn't have the support of the Campers from Half-Blood, we'd have been overrun by now."

"By what?" I asked as a bit of bile slipped up to my mouth.

"You name it. Scythian Dracanae, Stymphalian Birds… Gods know what else…" He looked into my eyes and read my mind. "Why do you look like you're hiding something? Don't tell me the quest was a failure".

"Not that, something else. On the way here, I had a really weird dream. I don't think it was a dream. The Lady with the Lions was in it, and she looked pissed" I told them the Cliff Notes version of my dream, minus the part about Reyna. Who needs to know about that?

Everyone was silent at the ominous message of doom. Frank looked at me with wrinkles set on his face as he thought long and hard to himself, "I don't know who we've killed, I mean this sounds like Gaia and her giants. But Gaia's consciousness is spread so thin, she couldn't possibly come back together, right?"

Reyna nodded deeply, "agreed. This must be someone else. Gaia does not consort with lionesses, and she does not care for the Wild, except as a tool to destroy the Gods. In the end, it does not matter who is responsible. The important thing now is to get the cure to the infirmary."

"Ah, there's only one problem with that" Frank interrupted. "The hospital was completely overwhelmed with the sick from all over the city. We couldn't house them all in one place. At this point, there are more infirm than healthy people. We've had to leave them at home with relatives who were still healthy. The only bit of good news was we finally figured out where the rats were hiding out. They had a nest in the sewage tunnels crisscrossing the town. They could hop from house to house undetected and then pop up to visit an alter and leave fleas behind".

Reyna began to pace, whipping her braid every time she turned around. "All well and good, however that still does not address how we can treat all of our people at once. It would take days to treat everyone, and I am guessing they may not last that long."

I sat down still exhausted from the past few days. I sagged a bit from the bad news and could feel the tension working its way into me. Then I let the feeling wash away as I listened to the lapping of the water in the aqueduct next to me.

My head went up and I turned to glare deeply into the water. "The water!" All heads turned to look at me. "All of these houses are connected to the aqueducts, right?"

Reyna looked at me as if I had grown a third head. "Well yes. The aqueducts supply water to the households, businesses and to the baths. They also serve to flush out the sewage systems; what's your point?"

I reached into my pocket and shook up the little bottle of panacea. "How much of this stuff would a person need to be healed? I mean really, the panacea is the divine cure; it's got to be really strong. Even a drop or two can turn back death. I say we throw this into the plumbing, let the water carry the panacea to every house."

The light went off in Reyna's eyes, "I see, and have every household drink or bathe in the water to heal them. That is brilliant! Send word out at once!" She commanded at the small gathering of legionnaires huddled around us. "Everyone must drink the water or go to the baths!"

"Where would be the best place to feed this into the system?" I asked, holding up the cure.

"To the river, there is a gate that feeds the water into the City. If we add it there, it should reach most of the town within hours".

We marched over to the Little Tiber. I pulled the cork off the vial and watched the little grey leaves slowly rise and fall inside. My fist was clenched tight around it. This was it. Did I really want to gamble everything and throw the whole thing in? I shrugged my shoulders, 'in for a penny in for a pound someone once said'. I turned the vial over and watched the grey liquid drop right into the water and disappear right into the torrent. "Let's see if the stuff does what the label promised" I joked out-loud.

From out of the sky and arrow came crashing down an inch away from my foot. Tied to the shaft with a piece of string was a note. I yanked it out of the ground, happy it didn't stab me and tore off the letter. _'It's all fun and games until someone gets pierced in the foot. Trust me little hero, my Panacea will meet your expectations and more. Don't doubt my talents. I am a granddaughter of Apollo. I missed you on purpose…_ Panacea

I looked up to the sky and laughed sheepishly to myself as I tucked the note out of sight, into my pocket. Then something odd started to happen. From the spot where the panacea was added to the water, the channel began to glow a faint white. From this spot, the weak glow pulsed through the aqueducts and waterways like a heartbeat. It was only a few minutes before the entire city was aglow with a cleansing light.

"Looks like the medicine's been delivered. Better make sure everyone gets some of the water to drink or visit the baths before the cure gets flushed out of the city" Frank insisted.

We ran to the hospital and filled cups with the water from the channel outside. I sat down next to Shayla and she looked terrible. Her eyes were fluttering about under her eyelids, her blonde hair matted down with sweat and looked a tangled mess. Her face glowed red with fever even though her bed shook under me. The blackish boils erupting on her skin were not encouraging. I brought the cup up to her lips and gently held her mouth open and let a little sip trickle down.

Her eyes closed tight before she gave a light gasp and her eyes went wide. Her pupils shrank for a second in the light before she focused on me. Her healthy tan had faded a bit, but the black boils had gone completely too. Shayla rubbed the sleep from her eyes, "gods, what a nice nap. I needed that"

"Nap?" I grumbled in disbelief. "You were out for days!"

She looked at me oddly, but before she had a chance to comment. "Di Immortales what hit me?" Tristan grumbled in a raspy voice.

Frank smiled as everyone else in the room began to wake up and come back to life before our eyes. "Looks like the divine plague did you in Doc, but Reyna and Alex managed to track down Panacea and get her cure. And based on what's going on, it's the real deal".

"By the Hippocratic Oath, I don't believe it" He replied in a deadpan voice. "Well at least you were somewhat useful" he begrudgingly conceded, some gratitude… "Do we have anymore left of the panacea? I would love to study it" his face lit up with a smile as he thought over the possibility.

Reyna broke the bad news and popped his bubble, "sadly, it was all dumped into the city's water to get the cure to everyone."

He snapped his fingers and grumbled under his breath, "oh blast it… Well, some things are not meant for mortals I suppose" Tristan bittersweetly conceded before groaning from the bed next to him grabbed his attention. Tristan hopped out of bed with a spring in his step.

"Gah my aching head" Jason complained as he tried sitting up and pinched his nose. The blackish tint hadn't quite faded from his skin yet. His eyes focused on the nurse in front of him, "Piper" he smiled with a grimace as the world seemed to spin about him except for her.

The girl with long brown hair with feathers with woven into the braids held up a cup with the glowing cure water. Her kaleidoscopic blue and green eyes shimmered as a knockout smile graced her face when Jason said her name.

She soothingly patted him on the back before coaxing him to lean back into his pillow and relax. "Hey there Superman, lie back a bit, you were out pretty bad".

"Again? Gods this is humiliating… Well I feel like a million denari now Pipes" Jason countered although his pale face only made Piper use an asserting voice.

"Lie back" she commanded quietly but firmly. All of a sudden, all I wanted to do at that moment was fall back onto the floor. Only when the Pontifex Maximus was lying back in his bed did the weird compulsion faded away.

"So, everyone's alright, no more plague?" She asked Tristan with hope in her voice.

Tristan smiled wanly. "No, if anything, this panacea has put me out of business for a few months, whatever maladies people were dealing with have vanished. Even people on their death beds have a new lease on life." He shrugged his shoulders as he put his stethoscope and thermometer down on the counter next to him. "How long this will be for I have no idea. Although after a scare like this, I could use a break". Tristan rolled his eyes before looking me in the eye and sighing, "I really do thank you for going out there and helping Reyna track down Panacea. Your courage and dedication is worthy of the finest in the Legion".

Reyna stepped in and added, "If it weren't for Alex, I would never have gotten the cure at all" Reyna blushed slightly at the admittance. Cassidy stood to the side and watched Reyna with a curious glance.

Frank beamed a grin and raised his spear and crashed it down on the wooden floor with a bang, "Well I think this calls for a celebration!" And starting from that room, the entire town broke out into riotous cheer.


	43. Full Circle

**Chapter 42: Full Circle**

Oh man the Roman party was like some souped-up version of Mardi Gras and New Year's combined. Food, drinks, music: all the works. It was like after the Party Ponies tore through camp, multiplied by a thousand. Apparently, there's no party animal like a Roman party animal.

I wasn't up for it though. The adrenaline rush from the quest and the ride back had completely faded. I wanted to drop where I stood. I broke away from the crowd, and staked out a quiet-looking seat off to the side under a tree and collapsed into it. Cassidy followed me and plopped in the chair next to me. "Hey" I told her.

"Hi, how you doing hero?" she added with a chuckle as I bumped her in the side with an elbow.

"Got a little overwhelmed, these Romans sure like to throw a party, huh?" I asked with a sigh.

"No joke" she agreed as she tried to catch her breath from all the dancing. She looked over at me with a mother hen expression on her face. "You alright? Ever since you got back, you've been a bit off."

I rubbed the back of my neck awkwardly. For some reason, I couldn't look her in the eye. "Uhm, actually, I need your advice on something".

Her eyes went wide like an owl's, "Oh? I'm terrible at advice" she warned with her hands up defensively.

"It's about feelings, I have for someone…" I specified.

Her hands stopped shaking and she put her palms on her lap, "Oh, in that case, what's up?" She leaned forward, eyes fixed right on me. I felt like a bug under a microscope.

"Well, you see, I've gotten these feelings, and I'm not sure what to do exactly. There's someone… and I'm not sure if I should go for it. I'm not sure if the feelings I have are really something and…" I stopped for a moment, I looked at Cassie, who had had inched all the way to the edge of her seat. "I'm not making any sense, am I?"

Cassie batted the thought aside, "no, no, you're good. It's confusing but I completely get it. If the feelings are there, you should totally go after him" she smiled happily.

I looked at her like she had a screw loose, "Him? What him? I was talking about Reyna. Who were you talking about?"

Cassie explosively stuttered, "Re-re-reyna? I thought you were talking about… oh di Immortales!"

I got up from my seat and stared down at her. "Cassie, who likes me?"

"I can't say, if you don't know…" she started nervously strumming her fingers on her thigh and looking in one direction and then the other and back again.

"Cassidy level with me" I commanded her.

"Why should I? You probably don't even care about him the same way he does you. You barely know this girl. She probably threw herself at you while you were on the quest". She nodded when she locked her eyes with mine. "It's written all over your face. That's not love, that's desperate infatuation. That girl is nothing but trouble for you!"

I tore at my hair in exasperation, "Cassidy why are you being like this?"

She glared at me like she wanted to slap me, "Boys… because you can't even see that someone really likes you and he's right under your nose. And you like him too in some unconscious way. But you're such a dense idiot, you didn't even notice. But you want to go after a girl who kisses you on the first date and you've only spent a few hours with? You barely even know her. How could you do this to Maxwell! Shit!" she quickly slapped her palm over her mouth. Cat's out of the bag.

"Max?" I repeated dumbly.

"I've said too much. I'm not saying anything else, that's his choice. If you want to figure things out, talk with him. I think it'll be good for you. That's my advice at least, should you choose to follow it" Cassidy added with a huff and ran off.

* * *

Cassidy ran off to the river mumbling to herself, "stupid, dense, boys... Gods!" She'd left the crowds and the noise behind her and found herself next to the new temple. "I just need a minute to myself. Max is going to murder me…"

Cassie yanked the door aside and then came into the cool room. She closed it and then set her back against and breathed a sigh of relief. It took her a minute to realize that she wasn't alone. A figure in a white toga with a purple sash looked over his shoulder as he lit a few candles in the dark. "Oh I didn't know anyone would be here. Sorry. I'll just go."

Jason raised a hand up, stopping her. "No, you don't have to". He smiled as he held his light closer to his face. "Actually, it's nice someone's here". He picked up a jug and filled a basin with scented oil before going back to lighting more candles. "I should have done this a few days ago, but I was a bit sidetracked. I'm consecrating this temple, to welcome the god to his new home, should he choose to have it" Jason bowed his head.

"Can I help?" Cassie asked, she didn't want to go back outside.

"Sure." Jason reached for an unlit piece of incense and set it on fire and then gave the tiny flame to her. "Why don't you take this and light the candles on the other side of the room. I'll finish the ones on this side". Cassidy made quick work of the candles.

With all of them lit, the warm glow shimmered off the blue stain glass windows and made the stone walls look as if gentle waves were lapping on them.

Jason dusted off his hands and grinned, "alright, looks like everything's set up. Help me throw open the back doors facing the river."

The two of them braced against the heavy oak doors and pushed, slowly swinging them open, Cassidy grunted from exertion, "couldn't you pick a lighter door?" she asked, trying to keep her voice from sounding like a whine.

"Oak is quite appropriate for this god, his father is Zeus, one of his symbols is the oak tree. What better wood to use for one of his son's temples?" Cassidy shrugged her shoulders as Jason held his palms up and out over the river as if he was beseeching it and offered a prayer. "I, Pontifex Maximus, Jason Grace, consecrate this temple. A sacred space for you to dwell, seek shelter and peace. May your endless wanderings cease wayward God, and please forgive the delay" Jason added sheepishly. "If this suits thee, come forth Akheilos".

"Akheilos! You dedicated a temple to that shark!" Cassidy crossed her arms in protest and stomped her foot on the mosaic walkway leading to the temple.

Jason stared at her looking confused, "well yeah. I'm surprised you know him. He's not a famous god, with a pretty crappy backstory too".

"Akheilos" Cassidy practically spat out the name. "That fish tried to eat me and my friends!"

The river bubbled and then erupted in a geyser when a giant triangle-shaped head emerged. The shark's mighty teeth glimmered in the moonlight like silver daggers. "Step into the water and I will endeavor to do so yet again Daughter of Aphrodite".

"Yah!" Cassidy jumped a comfortable distance from the water's edge. "What's with you? Why do you hate me so much!"

"I actually can't blame him too much to be honest" Jason shrugged his shoulders as he conceded the point.

"What's that supposed to mean? Jason, you're supposed to be on my side" Cassie hissed discretely under her breath.

The shark bowed its head toward Jason before asking, "Pontifex, a boon I ask of thee. I seek privacy with the young maiden. Would ye retreat for a short while?"

Jason crossed his arms defensively, "you're not going to eat her, are you?"

The shark growled deeply, the water all around him vibrated just like a crocodile. "Hardly, it would not matter at this point. I only wish to tell her something, alone" he emphasized.

Jason shrugged his shoulders "alright" he agreed as he turned around. Cassie threw a look at Jason that screamed, 'help me!' He pointedly stared over his shoulder at the shark, before he walked into the temple, "but if she starts screaming, god or not I will zap the river with a bolt of lightning that will leave you seeing stars" he threatened as the wind began to whip at his blonde hair.

The shark shined a toothy grin as he deeply chuckled, "idle threats, young Pontifex, thou would shock the maiden as well… However, I will heed ye words brother."

* * *

Cassie stared down at the shark from a good twenty feet from the shore. It lay there in the shallows staring at her with its soulless black eyes. "You said before that you hate me" she broke the five-minute silent staring contest. "And I don't even know you. Yet you want to hurt me. I don't understand what's your problem?!"

Akheilos hissed in the water as futilely lunged forward in the water before retreating. "Thou mother, the resemblance so uncanny at times" the shark conceded in a pained hiss. "Capricious shrew, she can't choose a form. She keeps changing o'er the eons. Attempting to ascertain the best vision to enrapture thou senses. Yet hollow, no substance and vain, painfully so" Akheilos continued with each word dripping from his mouth like battery acid.

Cassidy rolled her eyes as she shrugged her shoulders, "my mother is beautiful, she is the Goddess of Love and Beauty, what do you expect? Jealous?" She asked in a teasing way.

"Wrahh!" Akhelios raised his forked tail and smashed into the gravel beach with a crash, sending a giant wave barreling toward shore and drenching Cassidy from head to toe. "I would sooner die, then become as vapid as she! Beautiful may she be, but like a rose, she pricks the finger which holds her. She cannot stand, there be another equal to her in beauty and appearance". He started trolling the shallows as if he were pacing up and down the river. "At times women are born with a mortal beauty which rivals even hers. And is in some ways, better. Take the tales of Psyche and Myrhha. For their beauty, she tormented one and cursed the other. Not because they deserved such a fate, but because they made her feel less beautiful."

Akheilos sighed tiredly as he stared out in the direction of the sea. "Men were not spared from her wrath; the fate of Orpheus attests to that. I too, was once a fair youth, graced with the beauty of a god. Women longed for me the world over, even thou mother" Cassidy smirked as she tried to bottle up her laughter before it got the better of her and erupted out as a guffaw.

"Don't believe me? It matters not… I was young, never knew the sting of love's arrow. I did not love her, nor any other in the way she wanted. When I scorned her affections, a stupid thing, as children are apt to do; I earned her ire. She appeared one eve as a vengeful harpy. She tore at my clothes and stripped me of my humanity!" As the giant shark thrashed around in the river frothy waves crashed onto the shore as thunder crashed in the sky above even though the skies were clear.

Finally, Akheilos calmed down and sank into the water and grew still. The river became flat as a sheet, the wind went silent. He sighed tiredly as he moaned, "She threw me into the sea, cursed to wander endlessly, never to know home. And if that were not enough, she made it so I could never die. I would roam the sea, for all eternity" he bitterly moaned.

Cassidy rubbed her eyes. She didn't even notice the tears running down her face. "I know thou are not thy mother. Because even thou, who hast all reason to hate me, may still shed a tear for a creature such as I". And with that, Akheilos turned around and began to disappear into the depths.

"I am sorry" Cassidy mumbled to herself. The shark stopped and listened. "It wasn't right you know. Trying to hurt me to get back at my mother. But, I understand why you did it. It's tempting to hurt someone else who you can. If you can't hurt someone directly. And I feel sorry _for_ you. You don't deserve this."

The shark swam into the shallows and crashed halfway onto shore next to Cassidy. "That thou and I may agree" Akheilos complained. He sighed as he rolled onto his side and stared up into the night sky. His gills crinkled in the dry air as he lay there. "But at least one thing has changed. My endless wandering has come to an end. I have a place here, a temple which shall keep me. A credit to my brother… I have no need return to my cold mistress" The shark's eyes grew cloudy before they began to shine in the firelight and leak water.

Cassidy watched with wide eyes, "You're crying? I didn't know sharks could even cry?"

"I am a person at heart, while a shark is instinct, I am still more. Though there are days I wish that were not so".

Cassidy closed the distance between them and gently placed a tender hand on the shark's head under the eye and stroked the scales back. Akheilos cringed from the contact, before letting her rest her hand there on his skin. Cassie kneeled and pouted at the shark. She thought to herself, 'this guy hasn't been touched by another person, for a long time. No hugs, no warmth, not even a kiss in thousands of years? Gods how depressing'. She leaned forward and gave the shark a gentle kiss on the snout.

Akheilos lurched and roared in pain. Cassidy backed away, scared enough to almost wet her pants. She shouted in surprise at the same time the doors of the temple blew wide. Winds whipped away from Jason, his hair wickedly flapping about, electricity seemed to crackle in his sky-blue eyes.

"What's going on here?" Jason demanded as the doors shuddered in the wind.

Cassidy gestured him to come over as she stared in confusion at the shark, "It's Akheilos. Something's wrong". The giant fish thrashed and roared, flipping about on the shore in pain. The shark's monstrous body grew shorter and slimmer. Its black and white scales became smooth and cream-colored everywhere. Strawberry-blonde wavy hair started growing from his head. His sharp teeth grew smaller and his pitch-black eyes grew a deep-sea blue. His fins turned into a toned set of arms and legs. And where, moments earlier, was a monstrous shark, lay a young man, a naked young man…

Cassidy blinked in a daze as if not believing her eyes. "Ugm Jason, he's naked" she whispered in a harsh whisper.

Jason looked blindsided too, "Oh… Oh!" He jumped into action and ran back to the temple doors, "I'll get a robe from inside".

"Beware. She is coming!" Akheilos gasped as he reached out toward Cassidy in a panic. Only when he wrapped his arms around her, did he calm down and fell unconscious.

"Good Gods what happened?" She mumbled to herself as she stared down at the rather good-looking guy sleeping in front of her.

"Only by a kiss graced by myrtle; shall the monster like a frog come full circle" a serene voice called out from the water. "You did splendidly my dear."

"Mother?" Cassidy asked in an uncertain voice. She had only heard her mother's voice a few times before. "Is it true, what Akheilos said?" The voice failed to reply. Cassidy only heard the rippling of the river. "How could you do such a terrible thing? Thousands of years, living such a life because he was beautiful?"

"No" Aphrodite insisted as she popped into existence next to Cassidy. Her flowing hair shimmered blonde, then brown, red and black and cycling back. Her skin shimmered a healthy variety of tones and in her eyes, the colors of the rainbow danced. "It was because he rejected me". The goddess looked down at the young man in front of her. "I don't take rejection well, Cassie. I am a goddess."

Cassidy rolled her eyes and huffed, "Mother, it happens to everyone. You move on. You don't curse someone for all eternity over it."

Aphrodite shrugged her shoulders as if she didn't have a care in the world. "Maybe mortals work that way; because their time in this world is finite. But not the Gods. Cassidy I've done things I am not proud of. I have split kingdoms apart, brought star-crossed lovers together; only to be torn asunder in the end. For all the bad I've wrought, I have done good things as well. I led my grandson and his people from the ruins of tragic Troy to resplendent Rome and helped build a great empire. I inspire art and beauty the world over". The goddess sighed tiredly as a lock of grey hair appeared in her bangs. Aphrodite glared at it and zapped it with her finger, turning it a sunny blonde color. "We are old dear, and we gods have many faces. Some are pleasant and some are not. This is one of my pleasant faces Cassie" the goddess added with a tiny grin before it faded away to a flat line, "And I hope you never have to see my other aspects Cassidy." And with that Aphrodite vanished with a twirl of her dress in a shower of pink light.

"Nice meeting you for the first time Mother" Cassidy mumbled tongue in cheek before she looked down at the guy groaning and in pain.

"Beware Cassidy, Akheilos was not speaking of me in his portent…" the whisper warned from the river before fading away into the trickle of the water.


	44. Passions Ablaze

**Chapter 43: Passions Ablaze**

 ***Author's Note: warning, this chapter is a bit of an emotional rollercoaster. You have been warned***

* * *

 **Chapter 43: Passions Ablaze**

I ran off to clear my head. Cassidy dropped a bomb on me. I stumbled over my own feet. 'Maxwell likes me? Could that really be true?' I really wanted to throw the idea out the window. 'It had to be impossible…'

'We're just friends. Good friends. I mean he let me break down in front of him and he didn't even say anything about it. He's been there since I got here. I mean, we've had a rocky road starting with the Boar's tusk. But ever since the Capture the Flag game, everything's been great. I couldn't ask for a cooler guy to have as a friend'.

'He couldn't like me that way. The guy's probably stringing along an Aphrodite girl back at camp'. I even smiled at the thought. 'He probably has a thing with Cassidy. And she's just being jealous about something… I didn't take her for that kind of girl; sounds more like Drew'. I shrugged my shoulders, my mind feeling a bit more settled.

* * *

Heading to the guest barracks the Romans set up for all the visitors from Half-Blood; I raised an eyebrow as my mind started drifting back to Max. 'He is a good guy. He stayed that whole night. He didn't have too. Bed was kind of cramped with the two of us but he stuck around. Didn't even go and camp out in one of the empty bunks'. A warm feeling went down my back as I fell back into the memory. 'And then there was the morning after too. When we found that secret entrance to the bunker. He fell on top of me and just looked down at me with his face blushing like he was on fire. He stayed there like that for a minute. And I don't think either of us minded…'

I stopped walking and stared with wide eyes, "Gods maybe Cassidy was on to something" I staggered in place, unsure which way to go. "But what do I do? Do I sit down and talk with him, do I let it stew? I should have made Cassidy stay, she could have told me what to do. And what do I do about Reyna? Gods what a mess" I whispered to myself.

"Oh you haven't seen anything yet little hero" a woman's voice whispered from the river. "Love is a roller coaster ride of highs and lows. I can't wait to see where you go from here…"

I glared out at the water and shouted, "who's there!" A dove fluttered out from the bushes and disappeared into the dark.

"Alex?" another voice called out, and out of the dark, Reyna appeared from out of the dark. Her cloak flapped about in the cool breeze. "Is everything alright?"

'Oh I didn't want to bump into you' I groaned to myself. "I'm doing peachy Praetor, I'm just looking for Max, have you seen him anywhere".

Reyna smiled as she stepped closer, into my personal space. She gave a grin with her reply. "Praetor? Please Alex, call me by my name. Especially since we're out here, alone." She glanced back up at the Citadel. "If memory serves me, he went off with some of his cabin mates to paint the town red. Actually, I was looking for you. I wanted to talk about what happened on the island" she whispered as smiled and drew in closer for a kiss.

'Not again…' I backed away from her, her kiss failed to connect and she immediately noticed that. "What's wrong" she asked me with concern.

"Nothing" I tried to keep her mellow, but when she closed in again, I took a step back.

"Yes, there is, you're retreating" her smile faded into a flat line and her eyes grew stormy.

"I don't want to do this" I told her.

She looked at me in a confused way and then crossed her arms as she started to frown. "Do what, kiss me? You seemed perfectly fine back on the island."

I threw my hands up in defense, "you surprised me."

She glared at me angrily, "you let me kiss you".

I tore at my hair before throwing my arms wide, "you stole a kiss from me!" I harshly corrected.

"Oh…" someone whispered behind me. I turned around and there was Maxwell looking at me. He had his big, meaty hands in fists, clenched tight. His skin was pale and glowing under the moonlight. And his face had no emotion to it, but his eyes simmered in the light. He looked a kicked puppy. A two-hundred-pound jumbo-sized puppy. "I'll leave you to it" he snarled and turned tail.

'Great could this get any worse?' "Maxwell wait!" I asked him, but he stormed off and didn't even look back.

Reyna bristled furiously, whipping her braid about and glaring at me with laser beam focus. "Oh, I see how it is. You're going after _him_! And leaving _me_?" She started raving and completely lost her cool. " _Every_ time a good-looking, decent-enough guy comes into my line of sight, it turns out it is not to be. And I am _sick_ of it. Venus, are you truly going to force me to go through life pining for love and keeping it from me?" She turned around and batted me away with the back of her hand. "Go ahead and run after your lover! And never come back to Camp Jupiter, Alexander Conecke. Or so help me, I will send my dogs upon you to tear you to pieces!" Whoa... Goddess of War's daughter, I can totally see the resemblance.

"Fine by me" I told her and then ran off toward the barracks.

* * *

After chasing him through alleyways and quiet streets I saw him run into one of the guest quarters. I stepped in, the door wasn't even locked. "Max?" I asked tentatively.

I heard a rustling coming from one of the beds in the back. I turned and saw Max there sniffling on top of the sheets, angrily wiping his red face of its tears. "You shouldn't have followed me Conecke" he rumbled quietly.

I came in and closed the door, the only light coming in was from the window lighting Max on the bed. "I, I needed to clear the air with you. Explain what happened."

Max had his pocket knife in his hand, he played with it, twirling it in his hand. "Hmm, clear the air. What's there to say?" He brokenly replied. "I liked you, had a crush on you. Despite me trying to convince myself otherwise. I figured you had some feelings for me. But maybe it was only my feelings clouding what I saw. And it turned out I was wrong about you." Max shrugged his shoulders as if it didn't matter. "And if you like Reyna so much, you can have her" he bitterly added. "I can't give you what you want, I think. So, I will take my feelings and throttle them and you won't have to even think about me. I only ask one thing from you man…"

I stepped into the room, trying to get closer and Max lobbed his knife and stuck in the wall next to me. I stood there petrified. "Just stay away from me! I don't want to be strung along like a fool."

Maxwell shakingly got to his feet and tried to stumble past me and leave. I barred the door and stood in his way. He glared up at me and grabbed me to shove me away and bulldoze past. But before he could do a thing, I leaned forward and kissed him right there. I just lost myself in the kiss, the closeness. He growled in protest but I wouldn't let him go. After an infinity passed by, he stopped struggling and started sobbing. He backed away and looked up at me in confusion before he raised his fist and socked me in the face.

I crashed back into the door and he retreated to the bed. He rubbed his mouth gently as if not believing what just happened. "What the Hades is wrong with you?! I put all my feelings out there. You kiss a girl and then you go and kiss me. What are you trying to pull asshole!"

My head was still spinning and I could see stars; and I wasn't sure if it was the kiss or the right hook to the side of my head that caused them. "I don't like her!" I shook my head trying to get rid of the feeling, and only made my headache worse. "Gods Maxwell, I didn't like anyone. Not until I came to camp and that's when I noticed you. How cool and strong you were and how people respected you. You're a great guy. And then I really noticed something was up when we were down in the labyrinth. When you and Cassidy came out of the tunnels acting like new friends or something, I thought you guys were an item or something and…" Aww man I was starting to sound like a lovesick, desperate idiot.

He cleared his nose as he blearily stared at me and rubbed away the last of his tears. "Wait, what are you saying man? Were you…?" I stared at him annoyance, the jerk had a cocky grin on his face.

I rolled my eyes and sighed, "what are you going to make me come out and say it, I was jealous Max". He stared at me and his grin only kept growing. "I thought Cassie had you, and I didn't like that for some reason I couldn't put my finger on it and now I know why... I like you, I really do. And more than friends. Okay?" Love's hard…

"More than friends..." Max contently repeated to himself. He stared at me and asked me, "Listen Alex, I need some time to think things through, would you mind giving me some space?"

I rubbed the back of my neck nervously, "you don't hate me, do you? I'm just a blind idiot, I didn't want to mess you up."

"No" he interrupted me and sighed tiredly, "I just need some time to myself okay? We'll talk tomorrow" he got up and walked up to the door.

"Good night?" I told him uncertainly.

"Yeah night" he replied as I walked out the door and then he closed it behind me and locked it. In hindsight, I didn't understand something. If he wanted to keep me out in the first place, why did he leave the door unlocked...


	45. Cybele

**Chapter 44: Cybele**

"And then he slammed the door in my face". I recounted to Cassidy. It looked like a scene from a psychiatrist's office. With me laying back on the couch staring blankly up at the ceiling while she sat in the chair across from me with her complete attention focused on me. I took a breath and tiredly let my head fall to the side so I could look at her. "How do you think it went?"

She gave me a half-smile, half -frown and shrugged her shoulders as she strummed her fingers. "On a scale of 0 to 10: 0 being a complete dismal failure to 10 being happily ever after forever, that sounded like a lackluster 5." She smiled encouragingly, "points for effort on your part to try and patch things up though" Cassidy half-heartedly added, trying to offer a silver lining.

I faceplanted myself with the palm of my hand and groaned, "Gah why did I mess this up so bad?"

"To be fair, you weren't even all that aware of your own feelings, let alone Maxwell's. You had a rocky start, but it's not the end of the world Alex."

I dragged a pillow over my face and mumbled into it, "What do I do?"

Cassidy rolled her eyes while I wasn't looking and mumbled to herself, 'clueless'. She took a breath and put on a smile before replying, "just leave him alone for now, when a guy has to think, let him think and don't force him to do something. Gods, think about how you'd feel." I let the pillow drop to the floor and I nodded, thinking that her advice made complete sense.

"Anyway, something weird happened last night during the party. Come with me..." Cassidy opened a door to a cabin next door. She peeked inside and then gestured me to follow her in. After a moment, my eyes adjusted to the darkness in the room and I saw there was a bed. And in it was a guy. A bit older than me, about sixteen. He had strawberry-blonde with freckles on his face. He looked fit, like a runner. Toned, with long legs and strong arms.

I shrugged as I turned to Cassie and asked, "okay, I'll bite, who is he?"

She crossed her arms and replied; "would you believe that's Akheilos."

I stared at the guy sleeping in the bed, and tried to call up the image of Akheilos. One-hundred-foot-long demon shark from the abyss with teeth like silver knives and black, soulless eyes… Nope, no match. "You're shitting me." I told her point-blank.

"I shit you not" Cassidy cussed back quietly. "Jason dedicated that new temple last night and guess who was the god he gave it to?" She paused thematically before whispering harshly, "Yep, bloody Akheilos!" Cassie started talking faster and faster with each sentence. "It turned out, not being so bad. We had a long conversation. We both might have said some stuff. Patched things up. I might have felt sorry for him. Kissed him and poof! Instant prince from a frog scenario…"

I turned to look at her so fast, I almost gave myself whiplash. "Wait a minute!" I interrupted her. "You kissed a shark? Are you out of your mind!"

She brushed the point aside like a fly buzzing around her head. "Not the point. He said something last night, something concerning. 'She is coming.'"

I frowned as I thought about my dream from earlier. "Lady with the lions. She's coming. To Camp Jupiter".

"Cybele" a voice called in a raspy tone from the bed.

I turned and looked, the guy was blearily staring at the two of us with dark blue eyes and reached for some water sitting on the nightstand.

"What?" I asked him.

"She who is coming" he added ominously. "Her name is Cybele, Mother of the Wild, and she is furious" and the room suddenly dropped ten degrees.

Chiron's image in the Iris message flickered as he rubbed his beard. "Cybele" he reverently mentioned the name in a hushed tone. "Now there's an old name I haven't heard in eons."

"Who is she?" I asked him…

Me and Cassidy gathered everyone we could from the party outside once Akheilos woke up. I went and grabbed Shayla, Nico and Frank, while Cassidy grabbed Reyna and Max. It was a rather tense few minutes, waiting for everyone to assemble. I watched Reyna from across the room. We didn't say anything, but one wrong move and I wouldn't have been surprised to have a pair of metal dogs ripping me to shreds. Max wasn't much better. He refused to look me in the eye and stared down at the floor while his fingers played with his pocketknife in its sheath. Once everyone assembled, Frank got the shower going in the bathroom and threw a drachma in and called for Chiron back at camp; thankfully the coin didn't get rejected, even though the reception was crap. Horseman hopped out of bed wearing a flannel shirt and nightcap.

The centaur cleared his throat, "An old Goddess. Mother of the Wild and all who dwell in it. She is a face of the mother of the Gods."

"Ops" Jason muttered to himself.

Chiron nodded in agreement, "her Roman counterpart, her Greek form is Rhea, the Titan mother of the Gods. And she has a third name. Cybele, Mother of the Living World. It was said that when Rhea could not keep her children; she locked away the sadness and became anew. She tended the earth and made it grow. From her tending grew the Grove of Dodona and the trees and streams from which dryads and nymphs were borne. When she was forced to carry her last child, Zeus; Cybele faded away and Rhea re-emerged to hatch a plan to spirit away her last child to safety. We all know what happened after that."

Jason asked in confusion, "but why is Cybele running around now? Why isn't she happy, mellow Rhea?"

Chiron shrugged his shoulders before he counted of the names on his hand, "Rhea, Ops, Cybele: they are three and one, different faces of the same stone. Something has changed to cause Cybele to stir. And it is not a change for the better."

I interrupted, "maybe we can fix it. Fix the problem and we can calm Cybele down _._ "

Akheilos laying back in bed, sat silently as a statue until then to add his two cents, "not likely young one. Cybele stirs because she has felt the death of one of her kin, an irreplaceable loss. And with him gone; the Wild is fading fast".

Grover nervously chomped on a tin can in the image, "oh no you don't mean..."

Akheilos' eyes grew tight before he sighed, "the death of the God of Wild Things: Pan, has called to her. And with him dead, there be no way to appease her." Shark boy shuddered under the covers and looked away from the window. "Beware, she approaches…"

Some notice… Five minutes after he gave the warning; the sentries posted up on the walls of the Citadel started calling out for help. "To arms! Attack on the north wall!"

From the other side of town, a horn started blaring out into the night, cutting through the festivities. "South wall is under attack!"

Maxwell reached behind him and hefted his ax. "Can't catch a break around here."

Frank took point, "Praetor, you take the First Cohort to the North Wall to aid the sentries. I will take the Fifth to the South Wall and try to deal with the assault there. With luck, we'll be able to fend whatever it is off." Reyna nodded coolly before she raised her golden blade and ushered her troops on. In an instant, I could feel a mighty surge of energy and anger well up inside of me. Reyna wavered in her steps for a second before she collected herself and lead the troops through the city streets clean through town.

I ran up next to Frank along with Max and Nico. "What do you think Cybele's got lined up outside?"

Frank glared at the South Wall intensely. "No idea, but we'll have to deal with it before it breaches the walls".

When we climbed to the top of the walls and stared out across the Little Tiber. I wasn't sure what I was staring at. It looked as if the forests were sliding down from the mountains in every direction. No, they weren't sliding. The trees were walking across the ground with their roots and crawling forward on their giant branches.

"By the Gods, the trees are alive!" I exclaimed in surprise.

"They were alive already man" Max joked dryly.

"You know what I mean. They're moving toward the town".

Frank nodded his head, before pointing out in the distance, "and look who's leading the charge."

On the other side of the river from us; stood a lady on a chariot. A pair of lionesses snarled at each other before the lady whipped her reins and refocused them. She stared bitterly at us before she shouted on the top of her lungs. The earth seemed to shake from her voice. "Romans! You should have accepted your fate and gone peacefully. Now I must take harsher action to deal with you pests." She raised her spear and pointed it at the wall, "my army… advance! Tear them down brick by brick and reclaim what is rightfully yours!"

With her order, the sea of green slowly marched across the field. They would make it to the river in minutes. Frank turned around at the sentries stationed about him. "It would be a bloodbath to attack them head on. Let's see if we can't deter them first… Ready the onagers, load them with Greek fire. We'll make a wall of flames around the city. That should make them hesitate."

The legionnaires gently lowered glass jars filled with green haze into the catapults. It only took a few minutes to load the twenty contraptions with a hundred pounds of ammunition each. "We are ready Praetor."

Frank nodded once and the sentries raised their blades and in unison cut the ropes. Twenty loads of Greek fire flew into the air and rained down on the fields. As soon as the glasses shattered, the green haze exploded into a fiery emerald wall. The trees closest to the blaze cringed from the heat and had branches singed. The trees wavered in place, before retreating up the mountains and slipping their roots back into the ground.

Cybele cracked her reins and made her chariot race right to the flames and raised a fist in anger, "You may have won this battle, but know this: you cannot fight Nature. What she gives, she can take away. I will exact vengeance. Maybe not today, or tomorrow, but I will never stop until I tear your wretched civilization down, brick by brick, ashes to ashes!" With that Cybele turned away from New Rome with tears in her eyes. She vanished in a brilliant flash of light. Where her tears fell, the grass turned yellow and died and the earth cracked and hissed.


	46. Homecoming

**Chapter 45: Homecoming**

I am pleased to say that Cybele finally broke off from her attack on New Rome; after her army of trees retreated up into the mountains. The townspeople looked up at the forests with a bit of suspicion but days and then weeks passed without any problems.

After things settled down at Camp Jupiter; I found our welcome to have been worn thin, at least for me. Reyna stared at me coldly on send off day before she stormed off to the Senate and left giving me the cold shoulder, with her two mechanical monstrosities growling at me. Leo shared a look with me, "phew, whatever you did to Reyna, she's got you written down in her black book. What'd you do?"

I glared at him, "none of your business Valdez".

He gave me a sheepish smile, "if it's girl trouble, I do know a thing or two to help. You just need to ask you know?"

I rolled my eyes, "I'll keep you in mind, but it's nothing like that". All the while I could tell Max was listening to our conversation, even though he tried to look as if he was completely oblivious to the world… Right.

* * *

We suited up and got ready to fly back to camp when we realized that we had a last minute issue to sort out. Cassidy was out and about walking with Akheilos, showing him the sights. He seemed right at home with the Roman Baths and admiring the frescos and mosaics. But when it came to anything to do with modern stuff, Akheilos fell apart. I mean I thought I was bad with technology. At least I can plug in a coffee machine without almost electrocuting myself… And he did spend five minutes talking to a person on a television.

In the end, Cassidy asked if he wanted to head back to Camp with the rest of us. I mean, he is a son of Zeus from way back when; so, I guess we couldn't object to him staying in Cabin 1. Jason was more than happy to let him stay in town, however, with all his responsibilities, he wouldn't have much time to spend with his new brother.

In the end, Akheilos decided to join the rest of us on the plane, much to Leo's horror when he tried to pull the key out of the ignition when we were in the middle of flight or when he grabbed the yoke and almost put the plane in a stall and made us fall out of the sky.

* * *

When we landed in Camp Half-Blood, reality decided to come knocking. As soon as we got off the plane, Chiron came and greeted us. He had a letter for me from my mom.

I looked at it, not wanting to open it. I shrugged and took it and headed over to my cabin and plopped down in my bed. I tore open the seal, with a kiss mark from her light pink lipstick.

 _Dear Alex,_

 _I hope everything is going well up at Camp Half-Blood. I can't believe it's been three weeks since you've gone. Time flies when you're having fun. At least that's what I hope you've been up to. You haven't written me since that first week young man!_

 _In any case, I've enclosed train tickets for this weekend. You haven't forgotten you have school this Monday right? I can't wait to hear about all the amazing and fun things you've done, all the friends you've made. I'll have your favorite waiting for you when you get home: Belgian Waffles with Homemade Strawberry Syrup and those sausages and hash browns you like._

 _See you soon and love you, Mom_

"Love you too mom". I told myself as I folded up my letter and pocketed it.

"Everything okay?" I jumped at the sudden voice at the door. Max was standing there, leaning against the door frame. "I knocked, but you didn't say anything. So, I thought I'd give a shout and barge in".

"Yeah, everything's cool. Just got a letter from my mom. It kind of just hit me. I'm going back to Florida this weekend".

"Aren't you happy about that?" he asked cautiously from his spot.

I snorted, "yeah the monsters and quests and demigods can make a person go crazy". Max seemed to wilt with each word. I got up from the bed and walked up to him. "But I wouldn't have wanted to miss out on an adventure like this. I got to see all sorts of amazing things, meet a ton of cool people". I looked him square in the eye, "you in particular".

"Aww you going to make me blush, and you know I hate that" Max grumbled happily.

I shrugged my shoulders and smiled. "You heading home too?"

He rolled his eyes, "already here. I don't go to my mom's. It's been like that since I was a little kid. She couldn't handle me. Was happy to ditch me as soon as she could".

"I'm sorr…" I started.

"Aah" he stopped me. "It doesn't matter. I like it way more here anyway. The old place grows on you".

"You know, you could come down and visit sometime. It would be nice to just hang on the beach or catch a wave without dealing with Sharkzilla".

"Oh where's the fun in that" he grinned and laughed before he got serious. "I'd like that. I really would". He leaned forward and pecked me on the lips. "Even better than the last time". I looked at him with wide eyes and lost my voice.

He guffawed and fell over laughing. "Gods your face, it cracks me up!" He reached into his pocket and pulled out a carving: a wooden trident pendant sealed with a dark red-brown varnish. "Here, I made this, for you" He tied it around my neck and backed off. "Looks good on you. Adds to that surfer look you got going".

"Gee thanks" I told him before I kicked him out and finished packing my things for the trip home.

* * *

When all was said, and done, the sendoff was quiet. I said good bye to everyone separately. My friends were all staying in camp and not heading home. I sort of envied them. They all got to stick together, training and having fun; while I had Trigonometry and American Lit waiting back home.

Argus drove me to the train station, this time in relative peace, aside from the city traffic. No crazy boar out of Tartarus chasing after us. Argus quietly saluted me off and winked his blue eye on his forehead before pushing the brim of his hat over it and driving off.

The ride back home gave me a lot of time to think. Me and Max, might have a shot of making it work out. I fingered the pendent he made for me. I'll just have to see where this thing goes.

I rummaged through my carry on and pulled out the journals. I still wonder why I ended up with them in the first place. But as I keep on reading Beau and Cat's stories, I can't help but feel I've walked in their shoes before. Oh well… I grabbed the green one with a trident stamped on the front and jotted down some thoughts, 'dear diary: I don't know what tomorrow will bring, but I can't wait to see what's going to happen'.

So many unanswered questions. What to do with Cybele? Where will she strike next in her quest for vengeance? Why did Poseidon leave my mom, and why does she never talk about him? Somehow, I don't think the answers will be easy to get.

But good things come to those who try…


End file.
